George Burns

A series of mysterious crimes threatens the existence of a new radio network. In 1939, WBN, a fourth radio network, is about to take to America's airwaves. As if the confusion of the premiere night wasn't enough, Penny Henderson, the owner's secretary, must deal with an unhappy sponsor, an overbearing boss and a soon-to-be ex-husband who desperately wants her back. As the broadcast begins, a mysterious voice breaks the broadcast and suddenly members of the cast turn up dead. It's up to her husband Roger, to find out whodunit as the police chase him through the halls of WBN. —Kevin <Kibble@vm.temple.edu> On one fateful evening in 1939, WBN, a fourth radio network, is making its nationwide debut--and is engulfed in chaos. Penny Henderson, the station owner's secretary, has her hands full coping with a disgruntled sponsor, a tyrannical boss, an incompetent director, temperamental stars, unpaid writers on the verge of mutiny and, worst of all, her soon-to-be ex-husband Roger, who's determined to win Penny back. As the curtain rises on the opening act, a mysterious voice interrupts the program and menacing events begin to unfold--leading the WBN team to realize that dead air is the least of their worries! As cast members turn up dead, it is up to Roger to find out whodunnit as the police chase him through the halls of WBN. —Anonymous

In 1960 New York City, Arthur Shelton (John Doolittle) prays at the bedside of his young son, Bobby, who is sick with scarlet fever. On the street outside the apartment building, God (George Burns), dressed as an elderly man in a baseball cap and a gray sweatsuit, writes the boy's name on a notepad and promises to watch over him, hoping at the same time that He's not making a mistake with this one. Twenty-four years later in Los Angeles, California, the same Bobby Shelton (Ted Wass) is a struggling singer-songwriter married to Wendy (Roxanne Hart), a supportive wife and social worker. After another record company flatly rejects his latest composition, Bobby agrees to play a wedding for $500.00. Dejected, he tells himself he would "sell his soul to the devil" to be a success in the music business. The devil (George Burns in a dual role), who is disguised as a cigar-smoking talent agent named Harry O. Tophet, receives Bobby's message while driving back from Miami after a personal assignment, and notices on his car computer that God has "watched over" Bobby since 1960. The devil, however, declares out loud that he has priority if a person directly asks for him. During the wedding reception, the devil/Harry O. Tophet appears and gives Bobby his business card, promising to book him at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden. Although Harry claims to represent "all the big names... sooner or later," Bobby is not familiar with the agent. Nevertheless, he is impressed when Harry orchestrates a series of pratfalls among the wedding guests. Harry then disappears before Bobby can say anything more to him. When Bobby comments that he is flipping out, he turns over Harry's business card and sees that it says on the back of it "You're not flipping out." Meanwhile, rock star Billy Wayne (Robert Desiderio) panics when he realizes that his seven-year contract with the devil expires at 12:00 midnight. At Astral Records, Bobby and his longtime talent agent, Charlie Gray (Eugene Roche), arrive for an appointment with executive Gary Frantz (Ron Silver). As they wait in the reception room, Harry arrives and forces Bobby to choose between the two agents. Bobby takes a chance on the determined old man and politely fires Charlie. When Harry proposes a $3.5 million recording deal for Bobby, Frantz and his colleague laugh. At the same time, Harry hands Bobby a seven-year representation contract and tells him that if he signs it, they will stop laughing at him. When the young musician hesitates, Harry suggests a trial period and extends the contract to 12 years. As soon as Bobby signs, his name on the signature line magically changes into "Billy Wayne," and Frantz suddenly agrees to the $3.5 million-dollar contract with the famous rock star. Although Bobby still thinks that he is himself, everyone else around him now recognizes him only as Billy Wayne. Meanwhile, the real Billy Wayne has been transferred into Bobby's body without any memory of his former life. When Bobby telephones his wife to tell her the good news about the recording contract, he realizes that another man has replaced him and that Wendy is also unaware of the switch. By now Bobby has long since discovered that his deal with Harry was actually a deal with the devil, who reveals much later that he had lied about the trial period; Bobby is now in this for the long run. When Bobby asks the devil if he can ask one question, he lets him do so. Bobby asks, "Why do I still think I'm me? And what happens when my contract runs out?", the devil replies, "That's two questions. I only said you could ask one." During his first concert, Bobby is initially hesitant in front of screaming fans, but soon becomes more comfortable on stage. As the tour continues, he relishes the experience of being a rock star with a private plane, female groupies and magazine cover photos. Back in Los Angeles, Bobby arrives by helicopter at his hillside estate, knowing that he still thinks that he is himself rather than a celebrity. He stops outside the loft apartment that he shared with Wendy and appears to be regretful. Five months later, the devil visits Bobby again and mentions that God has become bitter and that He rarely makes personal appearances on Earth. That night, Bobby is stunned to find out that Wendy is pregnant, but is relieved to discover that the child was conceived before the deal with the devil was made. Desperate to return to his wife, Bobby begs to be released from his contract, but the devil refuses. When he consults a Catholic priest and a Jewish rabbi about the unholy arrangement with the devil, the two religious leaders consider the musician to be mentally disturbed. On the street, Bobby encounters an itinerant Black sidewalk preacher who simply tells him to look for God in the desert. With a sudden urge to visit Las Vegas, Nevada, Bobby tells Gary Frantz to book his next tour at Caesars Palace. After the first concert, Bobby asks the casino operator to page "the Lord" for him. When God telephones the musician's suite, Bobby thinks at first that He is Harry after hearing His voice until God tells him to look out of his window. Bobby does and sees a rainbow appear out of nowhere and without any rain. God then reassures Bobby and mentions that he has been watching over him ever since 1960. However, the Almighty does not offer His immediate help and abruptly hangs up, but not before telling Bobby that it wouldn't hurt to give all praises to Him in the highest. Bobby does so and asks to see another rainbow, but after he waits all day, none appears. Finally, by nightfall Bobby gives up and goes out of his hotel room for the next concert, just barely missing another rainbow appear, again out of nowhere and without any rain, in the night sky. Waiting in his dressing room before the concert, Bobby attempts to free himself from Billy Wayne's life forever by committing suicide. He swallows several handfuls of pills with liquor. Meanwhile, in the casino, God and the devil meet face-to-face for the first time in a long time and play poker together for the soul of Bobby Shelton. If the devil wins, Bobby Shelton will die as Billy Wayne and be remembered with other fallen rock superstars such as Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin. During the game, seemingly out of nowhere, God raises the stakes and wagers the billions of souls that are on His list and that He is currently watching over. If the devil wins, all of them are his along with Bobby. If God wins, the devil will never be allowed to ever interfere in their lives, even if they directly ask for him or even if they beg for him. The stakes are too risky for the devil and he folds, conceding Bobby's soul. As God presents His weak card hand, the devil realizes too late that his opponent was bluffing all the time and had nothing. When he asks why he folded, God says, "I put the fear of Me into you." In the dressing room, Gary Frantz finds Billy Wayne's body unresponsive on the floor, while Bobby Shelton gets up and slips out of the room, surprisingly unnoticed by anyone. After a doctor declares Billy dead, Bobby finally feels that he has been released from the rock star's life. Meanwhile, God tears up Bobby's contract to the devil. The devil asks God to play double or nothing, but God refuses him, saying that He got what He wanted. When the devil then asks God why He took such a big risk for Bobby, God says that he wouldn't understand and besides, He had to take him down a peg because he had been getting a bit cocky lately. Later, a wise-cracking God, who bears a strong resemblance to the devil, presents himself to Bobby and explains that He had promised his father that He would look after Bobby when he had scarlet fever as a child in 1960, adding that Arthur Shelton's prayer for his son was very convincing. God both tells Bobby to go back to his wife and also assures him in no uncertain terms that next time He will not bail him out. Unaware that her actual husband has been away for the past few months, Wendy welcomes Bobby home that evening. He tells her that he has had a life-changing experience. Five years later, Bobby rushes to the bedside of his sick daughter and softly sings to her the same song that his father had sung to him when he was sick as a child. Suddenly, Bobby hears the voice of God singing the same verse of the song that he had just sung. When Bobby asks "God?", God then reassures him by telling him "Sing", which he gladly does.

Young Tracy Richards (Louanne) and her neighbor, Shingo (John Louie), shoot basketballs until Tracy's divorced father, Don Richards (David Birney), arrives in his red Jeep to take her on an outing. Don's ex-wife and Tracy's mother, Paula (Suzanne Pleshette), tells Don to have Tracy back at the regular time. As father and daughter eat Chinese food, Don complains about the plot from a science fiction movie that they saw, but Tracy talks about the importance of believing in supernatural things. As Don leaves to make a phone call, Tracy opens a fortune cookie that reads: " Meet me in the lounge. - God." A second fortune cookie says, "I mean you, Tracy. - God." In the lounge, a man's voice beckons her through a red lacquer door, introduces himself as God, and asks for help. At first, Tracy thinks her father is playing tricks, but when other people cannot hear God's voice, she is convinced. God also says that He was impressed when she talked about the importance of believing in things that cannot be seen. Then, the voice goes silent. On the ride home, Tracy says she had a daydream although vague on the details, but Don, an advertising art director, assures her that it happens to people all the time. He then leaves her in the parked car while retrieving work from his office. This time, God appears in the backseat as an elderly man (George Burns) wearing a gray jacket, black-rimmed glasses, and a red shirt. When Tracy said she expected a Deity to wear a crown and a flowing robe, God tells her that she has confused him with the actor Charlton Heston. God complains that people do not believe in Him anymore, so Tracy suggests that He needs an advertising slogan to spread His message. He asks her to create one that children will understand. Later, Don gives Tracy some pointers on ways to devise a slogan. Back at home, Tracy asks Rosa (Alma Beltran), the housekeeper, if she talks to God. Rosa admits to praying everyday, but says that Tracy's imagination is running wild when Tracy confesses to her experience with God. Later, Tracy tells Shingo about her adventure with God, but he does not believe her either. When Tracy angrily throws a basketball at the hoop and makes a perfect shot, Shingo wonders if she really is telling the truth. At school, Tracy's teacher, Miss Hudson, accuses her of being inattentive in class and not turning in her homework, but Tracy is unable to explain her lack of interest. Back at home, Tracy studies television commercials obsessively, trying to figure out an appropriate slogan for God. As she watches The Johnny Carson Show, God appears on the television, and then, suddenly materializes in Tracy's living room. After listening to Tracy's material, God gives the girl another week to create a winning slogan. He encourages her to bounce ideas off of Shingo, with whom she and he eventually come up with "Think God." At a local McDonalds the next day, Tracy presents the slogan to God; He tells her that the next step is to spread the word. Tracy is worried that the extra responsibility will make her fall farther behind in her schoolwork, but God is persuasive. Tracy rallies her schoolmates, who post signs and leave chalk messages all over town. However, Paula Richards confronts her daughter after receiving a letter from Miss Hudson. When Tracy explains that God has visited her, Paula does not believe her. Tracy is pressured to catch up on her schoolwork, while Shingo enlists his cousins to help spread the word. Later, Tracy complains to God that spreading His slogan has gotten her in trouble with both her parents and friends, and He calms her fears by finishing her math homework. Another time later, Don and Paula question their daughter, but Tracy sticks to her story about God. Don wants Tracy to see a psychiatrist or a minister, but Paula wants to handle Tracy's situation by herself without outside interference. The parents decide to watch Tracy's behavior for a few more days. Back at school, the principal, Mr. Benson, arranges a meeting with the Richardses because Tracy refuses to stop her God campaign. When Paula tells her daughter that she will be expelled from school if she continues, Tracy says she will stop on the condition that God agrees to the plan. When the school psychologist learns that Tracy's relationship with God started in a Chinese restaurant with a fortune cookie, the principal suspends Tracy and the psychologist tells the parents that their daughter needs professional help. Meanwhile, Tracy's school friends picket in front of the school for Tracy's return. Soon, Don and Paula take Tracy to see Dr. Jerome Newell (Anthony Holland) who examines Tracy and puts her through a series of psychosis tests. After the tests are done, Dr. Newell tells Don and Paula that he theorizes (wrongly) that Tracy has created a "fantasy father figure" as a substitute for her real father, whom she sees on a limited basis since her parents' divorce. Dr. Newell concludes that there is nothing medically wrong with Tracy, but she is suffering from a psychosis. He suggests that she enter a mental treatment facility in Santa Barbara, California. Before Tracy is taken away to be admitted, she searches for God in several churches and even a synagogue, but cannot find Him. Tracy decides to run away, and Shingo helps her hide at his grandparents' house. Later, Tracy runs away to Union Train Station after Shingo warns her that he had to reveal her whereabouts when Don confronted and threatened him. There, God finally appears and convinces Tracy that running away is not the answer, and drives her home in a motorcycle sidecar. Two policemen see the motorcycle (with no one riding it) and chase after it, but God manages to lose the policemen. When Tracy's parents find their daughter in bed, Tracy explains that God brought her home. Meanwhile, the news reports that Tracy's slogan has spread internationally. In court, a judge asks that a panel of psychiatrists convene to determine Tracy's mental health. Based on their findings, the judge says he will rule on whether or not Tracy goes back to school. As the doctors' panel rules that Tracy can start treatment, God arrives and introduces himself as Dr. Stevens, a psychiatrist. Demonstrating His supernatural power, God makes a chandelier disappear and reappear, and turns day into night. He then turns to leave and vanishes; the door opens and closes by itself. The panel is left speechless, so the Richards take their daughter home. Tracy and her family celebrate at the Chinese restaurant. Tracy receives a message from the fortune cookies and goes to the lounge. There, God thanks her and her friends for their wonderful campaign. Although Tracy is sad that she may never see God again, He promises to call on her if He needs help with a big problem.

Bill (George Burns) is an elderly ex-vaudevillian performer who lives alone in a large, comfortable home. He awakens to a special alarm clock that activates his home stereo system, waking him to his favorite music. Along the way, Bill looks at photographs of his deceased wife, who apparently used to be part of his act. After breakfast, Bill goes to the supermarket, driving his unique classic automobile, a meticulously preserved 1930s model Pierce-Arrow; he compulsively takes two orange parking cones out of the trunk and places them in the two parking spaces next to his, to block anybody from parking near his car. Inside the market, Bill interacts in a friendly way with two employees, charming them with a magic trick. Kate (Brooke Shields) is a young teenage girl who is in a domestic squabble with an intimidating man named Demesta (William Russ). Kate, who is apparently nude and is wrapped in a towel, has locked herself in a bathroom to hide from Demesta, who pounds angrily on the door and demands to know the details of a drug deal that Kate has fouled up. He screams at her to give him either his money or his drugs. Frightened, Kate escapes through the bathroom window, still wrapped only in a towel, while a policeman suddenly knocks on the front door of the apartment and grapples with Demesta. The policeman chases Demesta down the street while Kate goes in a different direction, slipping down over a hillside staircase and losing her towel in the process. She runs away totally nude. Bill comes out of the grocery store talking to the bag boy about magic tricks, but when he opens his trunk to replace his orange parking cones, they both see Kate lying naked in his trunk, covered only in a deflated tire tube. Stunned and suddenly in a very compromising position (with a naked teenage girl in his trunk), Bill convinces the bag boy that it was just an illusion and he drives away. He stops on a secluded side street to question Kate, who asks Bill to take her to his house. He reluctantly agrees. Bill tries to get Kate to tell him what's going on, but she avoids all his questions, telling him crazy things like that her parents died on the Titanic and that she has no last name. Bill responds sarcastically to her jibes, but he also does his best to help Kate with whatever trouble she may be in. Instead of going to the police, he allows her to take shelter in his home, allowing her to choose some of his clothes to wear and even altering them so they fit her better. Kate refuses to answer any of his questions, and she attempts to escape Bill's house by dropping out of an upstairs window, spraining her ankle in the process. This attracts the attention of Bill's neighbors, Stan (John Schuck) and Sue (Andrea Howard), a nosy couple who try and figure out who the strange girl is at Bill's house. Bill goes to visit his friend Max (Burl Ives), who is a resident of a nursing home. Max apparently lived with Bill before being confined to the facility due to his despondent condition; Max has retreated into his mind and hasn't spoken a word in years, refusing to react to external stimulus. Bill still makes a habit of visiting him daily, cheerfully telling him about everything that's going on. He tells Max about Kate, saying that he feels as if he has to help her, although he doesn't know how. Later, Bill also receives a visit from his daughter, Shirl (Lorraine Gary) and her husband, Harris (Nicolas Coster). Shirl feels Bill is becoming senile and she tries to get him to sign a document that will give Shirl control over his bank account; when Bill refuses, Shirl becomes furious, complaining that Bill is giving away all of his money, but Bill angrily rebuffs her. Meanwhile, Demesta is in a rage about Kate's betrayal. He questions Roy (Christopher Knight), a teenage friend of Kate's, in an intimidating way and tells him that he'll find Kate wherever she is. When Bill goes to get a prescription for painkillers refilled, Demesta sees him in the pharmacy, but is unaware that he is connected to Kate. Stan and Sue step up their interfering and call Shirl to tell her they saw a young girl in Bill's house. When Shirl returns, she demands to see Kate but Bill refuses to let her in the house. He also refuses to acknowledge that he's harboring a juvenile, denying anything is wrong, much to Shirl's dismay and fury. Shirl suggests to Harris in a private moment that her father has been unstable ever since his vaudeville career went bad, identifying a disatrous show in Pittsburgh as the turning point. Harris thinks Shirl just misunderstands Bill, and encourages her to accept Bill's eccentric ways. Bill and Kate have a conversation where she reveals to him that she's on the run from a drug dealer. She claims Demesta gave her money to make a connection and pay for a cache of product, which she then threw into a sewer in a moment of panic. Bill tells her to go to the police, but Kate is afraid to do this because of the consequences for herself. Bill is happy that Kate has opened up to him finally; he genuinely likes her and feels that she has never had a nurturing home, being shuttled between foster homes. He invites her to come live with him, but Kate tells him that one has to be a certain age to be a foster parent. "I'm not old enough?" he jokes. Bill's poker buddies, whom he calls the "No Shirt Gang", all arrive to play cards at Bill's house, and he introduces Kate to them. They promise to be discreet about her presence, and the evening is interrupted when Shirl makes good on her promise to return with the police. The No Shirt gang hides Kate with a magic trick, levitating her up to the ceiling. When the girl can't be found, Shirl is even more furious. The next day, Bill leaves for his daily visit to Max, and he has a conversation with Kate, explaining Max's situation to her. Kate feels as if Max may need some tough love, recalling a young boy she once knew who also refused to talk. Kate tells Bill that the boy started talking once all the other kids ignored him. When Bill visits Max, he tells Max that he will never come to see him again; unless Max talks, it's goodbye forever. As a result, Max breaks down and begs Bill not to leave, and they embrace. Bill returns to the house excitedly to tell Kate the good news, but he finds that Kate is gone and the house is empty. Bill is despondent. Meanwhile, Kate returns to her foster home and gets a few of her belongings. She meets up with Roy at school, and Roy warns her that Demesta is looking for her. Then Kate reveals what really has her scared: she never made the connection in the first place, and still has the $20,000 cash that Demesta gave her to pay for the drugs. Roy is shocked and tells Kate that Demesta will kill her if he finds her, but Kate plans to leave town with the money. When Roy tells Kate that Demesta has been questioning everybody about Bill, Kate is horrified that Demesta knows where she was hiding, and that any moment now he will track down Bill's house and confront him. She returns to Bill's house, unable to leave town without making sure her new friend is aware of the danger he's in. While she is there, Demesta forces his way into the house; Kate has the $20,000 in her teddy bear, but she and Bill manage to subdue Demesta. After a chase through Bill's house, Bill holds Demesta at bay with a sword, forcing him into a large bag covered in padlocks. When they have him incapacitated, Bill reveals that the sword is a fake, one of Max's props from his magic act. With the police summoned and Demesta arrested, Bill and Kate celebrate by drinking tomato juice. Shirl arrives and is terrified when she sees the police at Bill's house, but Bill talks to her about the strange events that have been going on. Then he asks Shirl a favor. We then see Bill back at the rest home; Max is packing his belongings, preparing to go back home with Bill. Bill explains that Shirl and Harris have agreed to act as foster parents for Kate, and that Kate will stay with Bill and Max on the weekends. The film ends as Bill and Max walk out to greet Kate, who is guarding Bill's car by making sure nobody parks near it.

Joe (George Burns), Al (Art Carney), and Willie (Lee Strasberg) are three senior citizens who share a small apartment in Astoria, Queens, New York City. They are three retirees who live off monthly social security checks and spend their summer days sitting on a bench in a nearby park, reading newspapers, feeding pigeons, and fending off obnoxious children. It is a dull life, and finally Joe is driven to suggest something radical to break the monotony. After making their monthly visit to their bank to cash and/or deposit their social security checks, out of the blue Joe asks them: "why not go on a stick-up?" Bored by their daily routine, Joe argues that the crime is not as risky as they may think. In the unlikely event that they are arrested, room and board will be free in prison and their social security checks will accumulate until they are released; and if they succeed, they will have extra cash to enjoy, instead of sitting on a park bench all day. Al likes the idea, but Willie is more skeptical. As they discuss details, Al offers to investigate the gun collection of his nephew, Pete, while Joe proposes that they scout a bank to rob in New York City. Al surreptitiously borrows some pistols from the collection of his nephew, Pete (Charles Hallahan) who lives just a few miles away with his wife and three obnoxious children, and whom are having money problems themselves. Pete tells Al that he wants to open up his own furniture store, but the stress of paying for their mortgage as well as utility bills is getting to all of them. Al decides to himself that the bank robbery will help his nephew out financially. The next day, the three men take the subway into the city and, without much deliberation, decide to hold up the Union Marine Bank at 36th Street and Broadway. As they indulge in hot dogs from a street vendor and participate in a sidewalk drum performance, the men are rejuvenated by the scheme. Al is confident that he can obtain the guns that afternoon, so the ringleader, Joe, suggests robbing the bank the next day. While Joe and Willie purchase three pairs of Groucho Marx-style glasses as disguises, Al stops by Pete's house. As soon as his nephew leaves for work, Al sneaks into the basement and takes three pistols from the gun case, as well as an assortment of bullets. The next morning, after finally determining which bullets fit the pistols, the threesome take a bus to another neighborhood in Queens to conceal their point of origin. From there, they hail an unlicensed cab, which does not keep records of fares. For $30, the driver agrees to take them into Manhattan and to wait outside the bank while they "sign a will." Upon entering the bank in disguise, Al detains the security guard at gunpoint, as Joe orders the teller to hand over the money. When the bank manager does not take the elderly men seriously, Joe fires a bullet at the wall, causing everyone to take cover on the floor. After filling their satchel with cash, the friends dash back to the waiting cab, ask the driver to drop them at a subway station and return to Queens on the train. When they count the money at home, the total amounts to just over $35,000, and Al suggest they hide the loot in his old suitcase, stored at Pete's house. Later, as the three men sit on their regular park bench and overhear a report on the radio about the crime, Willie suffers a heart attack and dies. Sparing no expense, Joe makes funeral arrangements. During the memorial service, Joe and Al decide to give $25,000 of the heist money to Pete, who tirelessly works two jobs to support his family. Pete is speechless as Joe explains that he and Al inherited a $25,000 life insurance policy from Willie, but they have no need for the money. In exchange for the gift, Joe suggests that Pete give them $20 per week to supplement their fixed income. After the funeral, the two friends decide to spend some of their money on a spontaneous vacation to Las Vegas, Nevada. Without making reservations, they take a cab to Kennedy Airport, buy a ticket, and board their first plane flight. At a casino hotel that evening, they try their luck at the craps table. Al is not familiar with the game, but Joe instructs him to simply roll the dice while he places bets. To their surprise, they accumulate $73,000 in winnings by the end of the evening. However, Joe realizes that their gambling luck will make them a target for thieves, as well as more conspicuous to authorities, so he suggests they collect the cash and fly back to New York that night. Arriving at their apartment exhausted from the whirlwind excursion, they immediately fall asleep. When Joe wakes, he hears a report on the radio that the police anticipate a development in the "amateur" bank robbery case. Joe tries to wake Al with the news, but is distressed to find that his friend has passed away. A few hours later that evening, Joe arrives at Pete's house, carrying the bag of money, and takes Pete aside to divulge the bank robbery, the Vegas winnings and his uncle's death. He adds that the police appear to be closing in and asks Pete to help hide the approximately $107,000 in a safety deposit box. Tearful over his uncle's death, Pete agrees and promises not to inform the authorities. The next day, Joe shaves and dresses for Al's funeral, but as he leaves the apartment, two FBI agents handcuff him and take him away. During questioning, Joe refuses to reveal the location of the money. Sometime later, Pete visits Joe at the state prison and reminds him that if he does not give back the robbery cash, he will receive a harsher sentence. Joe says he does not mind, adding that Al and Willie would not want him to return the loot. Joe explains that it no longer matters to him if he remains in prison for the rest of his life. For several years, Joe already felt like he was in prison with living a dull life. Joe explains that he no longer has to cook and clean for himself in prison. He gets three square meals a day, and generally is getting "treated like a king around here." Joe tells Pete not to visit him again to avoid being suspected in his bank robbery plan, and to "enjoy his inheritance" of living off the bank robbery and Vegas money. In the final shot, as Joe is being escorted back to his cell by a guard, he looks mischievously at Pete and says with a wiry smile: "besides... no tin-horn joint like this could ever hold me!"

Jerry Landers (John Denver), an assistant manager at a Food World grocery store in Burbank, California, receives a letter at his home after work summoning him to a meeting with God the following day. Jerry and his wife, Bobbie (Terri Garr), dismiss it as a practical joke and he tears the note up and throws it away. However, the next day, the note turns up in a head of lettuce at the store and Jerry feels compelled to honor the request. Jerry goes to the appointment meeting place in downtown Los Angeles, California, and finds an office with nothing but a chair and an intercom. He is greeted by a voice on the intercom. The voice attempts to convince the dubious Jerry that He really is God by demonstrating that Jerry is on the 27th floor of a building that actually has only 17 floors. After Jerry leaves the building completely spooked, the voice begins talking to him through Jerry's supposedly broken car radio. God informs Jerry that He wants him to spread the word that God exists. At home, Jerry tells his wife all about the meeting and encounter. But naturally Bobbie does not believe Jerry and suggests that they go on vacation and visit his brother-in-law, who is a therapist, but Jerry insists that he is not crazy, which fuels her suspicions about Jerry and his mental health. The following day, God speaks to Jerry in the shower and then appears to him in the guise of an elderly man (George Burns). When Jerry asks him how He can permit so much suffering in the world, God explains that the world is based on luck and free will. God tells Jerry that it is up to him to inform the world to heed His message, treat one another better, and look after the Earth's natural resources. God urges him to go to the press. Jerry visits Briggs (George Furth), a Los Angeles Times reporter, that God asked him to be His messenger, but the journalist is skeptical. Later, God appears to Jerry at the grocery store and asks him to go for a drive. Jerry asks for a sign and God makes it rain inside the car. When Jerry is pulled over by a policeman to inquire about the water leaking from the moving car, Jerry lies to the motorcycle cop by claiming that he left the car windows down while driving through a car wash. After the policeman lets Jerry go with a warning, God is somewhat disappointed that Jerry lied to the policeman to avoid getting in trouble and insists that Jerry spread His word with truth and no more lies. Jerry returns to the newspaper office (still soaking wet) and again tries to convince Briggs. The next day, the newspaper runs a story that includes Jerry among tales of various religious fanatics and Bobbie is mortified. Jerry explains that he has now seen God and needs her to believe him. She allows that Jerry believes that he spoke to God, and they attempt to explain the situation to their children, Adam and Becky, but the boy and girl hope their father is just going through a phase and also think that he may be crazy. Later, a television news program picks up the story and the media surrounds the Landers' Tarzana, California, home. A Food World executive warns Jerry not to make any more claims that he has spoken to God if he wants to keep his job. In another meeting, God tells Jerry that there are no guarantees in life, and his job is a small price to pay for saving the world. When Jerry picks up Adam at school, his son is embarrassed to be seen with him, and Becky refuses to speak to him as well. At home, Bobbie pleads with Jerry not to jeopardize his career or their lives, as their neighbors are now avoiding her. Later, Jerry appears as a guest on the Dinah Shore Show, on which a Los Angeles Police Department sketch artist produces a drawing of God based on Jerry's description. After the show airs, people begin to recognize Jerry wherever he goes. Bobbie is extremely upset when a crowd of religious zealots gathers outside the Landers' house. A committee of religious leaders of various faiths calls Jerry before them to verify his story. The committee sequesters Jerry in a hotel with 50 questions written in ancient Aramaic, which he is to answer with God's help. God appears as a room service waiter, dictates the answers to Jerry and instructs him to take them directly to Reverend Willie Williams (Paul Sorvino), an evangelical preacher, whom God calls a fraud. Jerry attends Reverend Williams' revival meeting at the Shrine Auditorium and tells Williams' followers what God said, which leads to a riot at the auditorium and Jerry getting thrown out by the hostile bouncers. Reverend Williams then sues Jerry for slander. In court, Jerry acts as his own attorney and calls God to the witness stand. The judge threatens Jerry with contempt of court, but God enters the courtroom and testifies. Everyone in court can see and hear Him and He performs a card trick and makes himself disappear to prove his legitimacy; however, when the audio recording made by the court clerk is played back, God's voice cannot be heard and His testimony has disappeared from the stenographer's transcription. The judge dismisses the slander charge against Jerry, but rules that there is no evidence that God appeared despite their mutual experience of the phenomena. Nevertheless, Jerry and Bobbie reconcile as she now believes him and his encounters with God. As the film comes to an end, Jerry loses his job at Food World, collects his final paycheck, and says goodbye to his co-workers. As he drives away, Jerry hears a pay phone ringing in a park and stops to answer it. God materializes in the adjacent phone booth. Jerry asks if they failed to spread His message due to him losing his job and all of his friends and neighbors still ostracizing him. God assures Jerry that they succeeded in getting His word out and now they just have to see what happens. With Jerry's work complete, God bids him good-bye and fades away.

A minority stockholder takes on the crooked board of directors at a billion dollar corporation. Laura Partridge (Judy Holliday) is a very enthusiastic small stockholder of 10 shares in International Projects, a large corporation based in New York City. She attends her first stockholders meeting ready to question the board of directors from their salaries to their operations. These are not the questions which the board expected to be asked of them, especially since they are all crooked, except for Edward McKeever (Paul Douglas), the current CEO who has resigned in order to take an advisory position at the Pentagon. Following the meeting, he bumps into Laura and offers to drive her home. On the way there, Laura displays her enthusiasm for being a stockholder, as a result, Edward takes a liking to her. With Edward in Washington, D.C., John Blessington (John Williams) and Clifford Snell (Fred Clark) establish their hold on International Projects. They see greater riches now that Edward has influence with the U.S. Senate, especially with the awarding of federal contracts; unfortunately for them, he is honest, and won't do their bidding. In the meantime, Laura continues to be a nuisance to the board. Blessington believes the only way to silence her is to give her a high-paying position with the company. The idea is for her to do absolutely nothing, but Laura has other plans. She begins to correspond with other small stockholders in the company, a problem for the board. They decide to use her influence on Edward and send her to Washington, D.C. to get contracts. Laura, now knowing their true intentions for her, has her own agenda, that is, get Edward back in charge of the company. —Kelly It is the Annual General Meeting of International Projects, a large listed company. The board of directors are a shady lot, but none of the shareholders ever question their decisions or vote against their motions--until now. Laura Partridge (Judy Holliday), a minor shareholder, starts to ask some pretty important questions--questions which the directors don't like. In the aftermath of the meeting, the directors are worried that she will form a committee of minority shareholders, and exercise some control of the company. In order to keep her quiet and in line, they offer her a job in the company, as Director of Shareholder Relations. The idea is to give her nothing to do, but Laura has other plans. —grantss Inheriting ten shares of the company's stock, struggling New York actress Laura Partridge, who has no experience with the workings of multinational corporations, decides to attend an International Projects' stockholders' meeting to understand what is happening with her money in those ten shares. She will discover that this meeting will introduce a change to the Board as company founder Edward L. McKeever is stepping down as President and Board Chair having been seconded, appointed directly by the President of the United States, to a position in procurement for the Department of Defense in Washington, DC, he necessarily having sold his company shares to avoid conflict of interest, with John T. Blessington taking over as President and Board Chair. While McKeever is an ethical and hard working man, Blessington and the rest of the Board executive are less than ethical in only looking out for their own personal interests. On the surface, Laura doesn't like what she sees especially in bloated salaries for the Board executive. In meeting after meeting, Laura is able to be enough of a thorn in the Board executives' sides that Blessington decides that the best tact in dealing with her is to hold her close by offering her a made-up executive position within the company as Director of Shareholder Relations, her responsibilities to answer any correspondence received by shareholders, such correspondence which is basically non-existent. In being on the inside, Laura, despite her naiveté, knows what she believes is best for the company and for the plethora of minor shareholders like herself, namely for McKeever to return to the company, which is the last thing Blessington and the other Board executives want in expecting McKeever to direct government contracts in International Projects' direction to line their pockets further, and in not wanting to relinquish their control of the company. Things only get more complicated when Laura and McKeever fall in love, and they learn that Blessington never had any intention of relinquishing control back to McKeever despite Blessington bestowing upon McKeever as a going away gift a master "golden key", which opens any lock at International Projects, as a symbol of he being welcomed back at any time. —Huggo