Paper Man (TV 1971)

A prank that starts with a group of college students creating a fictitious person so they can get a credit card develops into a plot that leaves three of them dead.

Director:

Walter Grauman

Writers:

James D. Buchanan (screenplay), Ronald Austin (screenplay),

Stars:

Dean Stockwell, Stefanie Powers, James Stacy

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dean Stockwell	...	Avery Jensen
Stefanie Powers	...	Karen McMillan
James Stacy	...	Jerry
Tina Chen	...	Lisa
Elliott Street	...	Joel Fisher
James Olson	...	Art Fletcher
Jason Wingreen	...	Doctor
Dan Barton	...	Electronics Expert
Robert Patten	...	Father
Suzanne Taylor	...	Mother (as Sue Taylor)
Johnny Scott Lee	...	Avery as a Boy
Len Wayland	...	Executive
Dean Harens	...	Bureaucrat
Bob Golden	...	Deputy
Marcy Lafferty	...	Secretary

Storyline

Four college students take advantage of a credit card mistakenly issued to someone who doesn't exist, then use their university's computer to erase the charges they run up. But the computer seems to have some ideas of its own ...

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Plot Keywords:

computer | college | public domain | murder | falling through a window | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 November 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

L'homme de papier

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min 89 min (video release)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Released briefly in theaters in 1971. This is why the 20th Century Fox fanfare plays before the film begins on the video releases. The theatrical release runs an extra fifteen minutes than the television release version.

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Quotes

Joel Fisher: [getting the mail] Thank you. Joel Fisher... Joel Fisher... Joel Fisher... Henry Norman?
[voice over]
Joel Fisher: Well, let me tell you - I was just about to hand it back and say, "Hey, man - right box, wrong name" and then I felt it. One of those lovely plastic rectangles that spells out 'instant credit'. It seems that old big ugly, that giant computer that's trying to stick numbers on people had finally blew one and I must say it couldn't have happened to a nicer group even though it was a mistake.

User Reviews

Great little TV suspense movie

Four college students (including Stefanie Powers) decide to go on a spending spree when one of them mistakenly receives a credit card for one "Henry Norman" in the mail. When the bank starts to get suspicious and requests "Henry" fill out a background questionnaire (hey, it was the early 70s), the group recruits computer whiz Avery (Dean Stockwell) to create a "real" history for the man in the computer. However, it appears Henry Norman is quite real himself and is angry his credit rating is being ruined so he starts offing the kids via the computer. Engaging TV movie that seems to have been ahead of its time when it comes to computers. Unfortunately, there are two problems. One, the kids are totally unsympathetic and annoying; two, the mystery is pretty dang obvious when you have the five kids whittled down to two and there is only one other character in the story. Still, a fun little computer gone wild flick to enjoy with its big brother COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT (1970).