In Desny v. Wilder (1956) 46 Cal.2d 715, the plaintiff claimed to have provided to famous movie director Billy Wilder a screenplay synopsis involving the attempt to rescue a man trapped in an underground cavern - a story derived from an actual incident in the 1920's. (Id. at pp. 724-728.) The plaintiff in Desny alleged that his story was appropriated by Wilder and his associates in a film entitled Ace in the Hole - also distributed as The Big Carnival. (Id. at p. 724 & fn. 3.) Desny conceded that his synopsis "'was not sufficiently unique or original to be the basis for recovery under the law of plagiarism or infringement.'" (Id. at p. 728.) Desny's complaint sought merely to recover on a contract theory. (Ibid.)