Philadelphia Christopher Davis

Andrew Beckett is a young and successful lawyer who works for a famous law-office in Philadelphia. One day he is suddenly fired by the senior partners although he is doing his job perfectly. But Andrew knows that he was fired because of his disease. Andrew has AIDS. So he tries to fight against the unfair decision.

He is the only lawyer who wants to help Andrew.

Charles Wheeler, Bob Seidman, Kenneth Killcoyne, Walter Kenton These are the four senior partners of the firm who dismiss Andrew.

Belinda Conine She is the lawyer who defends Wyant, Wheeler, Hellerman, Tetlow & Brown (this is the full name of the firm) at the court.

Shelby She is Andrews secretary.

Plot Andrew Beckett is a young and famous lawyer in a big law-office in Philadelphia. Everybody likes him but Andrew has a secret which nobody knows in the office: he has AIDS. One day the four senior partners promote him to the fifth senior partner of the firm. Andy is very surprised and happy. After his promotion he has to write a document for an important case which contains a lot of money. He saves it on his computer.

The following days Andy works at home because he has some lesions on his face which are typical symptoms of AIDS. He tells Shelby, his secretary, to print the document and send it to the responsible court because the document has to be there within the following six hours. But Shelby cant find the file on the computer.

It has disappeared. Andy knows that he has already printed one and so he tells Shelby to search for it in his office. Meanwhile the other senior partners get the bad information. But after some hours Shelby finds the document and she can send it to the court in time. But the incident seems very strange to Andy because Shelby found the document at the record-office of the firm. One day later Andrew is fired. The partners tell him that he has been too incompetent in the last weeks and that the firm can not cooperate with him any longer. But Andy knows that he has been doing a good job in the last two years and that the partners only fired him because of his disease. Andrew decides to sue them for social discrimination.

The following week is very hard for Andy because he gets an infusion at the hospital every day and he has to undergo blood tests. Then he looks for a lawyer who can plead for him at the court.

He visits nine lawyers but no one of them wants to help him when Andy tells them the facts. But Andy doesnt give up. He visits a young black lawyer. His name is Joe Miller. Andy knows Miller because one week before he was fired, the fight against each other at the court, so Andy hopes that Joe Miller can help him, but Joe doesnt want to help Andrew because he is afraid of AIDS and he hates homosexuals.

So Andrew decides to work alone for the trial but he grows weaker.

One week later Joe Miller has to read something for a case in the library. There he notices Andy near a table. He looks pale and weak.

So Joe decides to ...