Altman’s Last Stand

Analyzed at age seven, by Sigmund Freud, the Viennese-born Franz Altman has lived and loved all over the world. Now, in his one-hundredth decade, Altman has become a media celebrity, but not for reasons of longevity. His mid-town Manhattan second hand shop, King Solomon’s Treasure, is the target of powerful developers, who have bought up all the buildings around him to erect a high-rise. Altman refuses to sell. “This shop is my life!” he declares. “Send in the Indians. Send in the Arabs! This is Altman’s Last Stand!” His battle with the developers becomes a highly rated episode of CBS’s 60 Minutes. Everyone wants a piece of Franz Altman, including a beautiful young woman from People magazine who arrives at his shop to interview him. Through the next 90 minutes, Altman takes her on a titillating journey through a tumultuous Twentieth Century that he has lived through.