National Treasure 1 🎥 2004 Movie Info

Plot Summary

Benjamin Franklin Gates is an American historian, cryptographer, and treasure hunter. When Ben was young, his grandfather John told him a story about a fabled treasure hidden in America passed down from ancient times to the Knights Templar, Founding Fathers, and Freemasons. In 1832, Charles Carroll passed on a secret clue to their ancestor, Thomas Gates, and could lead anyone to the treasure with the phrase “the secret lies with Charlotte”. While the story convinces Ben, his skeptical father, Patrick, dismisses it as nonsense.

Ben and his friend, computer expert Riley Poole, head an expedition financed by wealthy Englishman Ian Howe to find the Charlotte, revealed to be a ship found in the Arctic. Within the ship, they find a meerschaum pipe, whose engravings reveal the next clue is on the Declaration of Independence. When Ian reveals himself as a crime boss and suggests stealing the Declaration, a fight ensues, and the group splits. Ben and Riley report Ian’s plan to the FBI and to Dr. Abigail Chase of the National Archives but are not believed. Ben decides to protect the Declaration by stealing it from the Archives’ preservation room during a gala event before Ian does.

Obtaining Abigail’s fingerprints, he successfully obtains the Declaration, but he is spotted by Ian’s group just as they break in to steal it. Ben tries to leave via the gift shop but has to pay for the Declaration when the cashier mistakes it for a souvenir copy. Suspecting something amiss, Abigail confronts Ben and takes back the document. Ian promptly kidnaps her, but Ben and Riley rescue Abigail, tricking Ian by leaving behind a souvenir copy of the Declaration. The FBI, led by Special Agent Peter Sadusky, begins tracking Ben. Going to Patrick’s house, the trio studies the Declaration and discovers a book cipher written in invisible ink.

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