[AS2.0] Flash 8 help! Movieclip loading issue!

I have a number of menu buttons (home, about, contact, etc). Each button loads a new/different movieclip onto the scene. Each movieclip when loaded plays up to frame 25 and stops.

When I click on any of the menu buttons, I want the current/loaded movieclip to continue playing until it reaches the end of the clip before loading the next.

I tried this actionscript with no luck!

aboutMenu.onRelease = function() {
    _root.loadHere.gotoAndPlay(26);
    if (_root.loadHere._currentframe == end) {
        _root.loadHere.loadMovie("contact.swf");
    }
};

I have been at this for quite some time now. Please help!

Ben