... and if you don't understand that title then join the rest of us who do not understand Dick Powell's entry into a coffee company slogan contest where the grand prize is 25K. None of the other characters in the film do either. Powell plays a clerk doing the kind of rote bookkeeping tasks that were replaced by computers decades ago. As he anxiously waits for the results of the contest, three of his colleagues decide to play a prank and send him a fake telegram at work saying he won the grand prize. But their joke quickly spirals out of control as the boss and even the owner of the company get involved in Powell's imaginary good fortune. They just don't have a chance to tell Powell the truth without possibly getting fired from a job they probably don't like but desperately need.
This honest earnest clerk then goes to the coffee company that was giving the prize, manages to collect the 25K check from the owner, and goes on a shopping spree for the whole neighborhood. How will this all work out? Watch and find out.
Ellen Drew plays the supportive girlfriend even BEFORE the guy thinks he won the dough, Georgia Caine plays Powell's poor but proud mother with the heart of gold, and Sturges regular William Demarest hardly has any screen time, but gets his mileage in with his attitude, one liners, and a great boomerang ending. This film at under 70 minutes manages to satirize class, media, corporate culture, and even the winds of war with the typical Sturges wit and hilarity. Highly recommended.
This honest earnest clerk then goes to the coffee company that was giving the prize, manages to collect the 25K check from the owner, and goes on a shopping spree for the whole neighborhood. How will this all work out? Watch and find out.
Ellen Drew plays the supportive girlfriend even BEFORE the guy thinks he won the dough, Georgia Caine plays Powell's poor but proud mother with the heart of gold, and Sturges regular William Demarest hardly has any screen time, but gets his mileage in with his attitude, one liners, and a great boomerang ending. This film at under 70 minutes manages to satirize class, media, corporate culture, and even the winds of war with the typical Sturges wit and hilarity. Highly recommended.