At a shareholders meeting for International Projects, a billion dollar corporation, John T. Blessington announces he is replacing Edward L. McKeever, the company's founder, president and chairman of the board, who is resigning to work for the federal government in Washington D.C. Laura Partridge, a minority stockholder with just ten shares of stock, drives its arrogant, self-serving executives to distraction with her incessant questioning during this and subsequent meetings. Blessington comes up with the idea of hiring the struggling actress as director of shareholder relations to keep her occupied answering letters from small shareholders. He assigns her a secretary, Amelia Shotgraven, with secret instructions to obstruct her as much as possible. The conscientious Miss Partridge, upon discovering there is nothing substantial for her to do, decides to write the stockholders herself. She gains Amelia's friendship and wholehearted assistance by helping her develop a romantic relationship with office manager Mark Jenkins. When the directors find out, they fire Amelia. However, Laura discovers that Blessington's thoroughly unqualified brother-in-law, Harry Harkness, has driven an apparent competitor into bankruptcy, unaware International Projects actually owns the unfortunate company. With that as leverage, she gets Amelia rehired. Still determined to neutralize Laura, the board decides to send her to Washington to persuade McKeever to give them some government contracts. She agrees to go, with the secret intention of trying to convince him to return and take back control from his crooked cronies. However, the company directors recall that he has divested himself of all his shares and is thus powerless, so they brush him off. McKeever takes them to court, arguing that Laura was an unlicensed, illegal lobbyist; but, when she is forced to admit on the stand that she had another, romantic, reason for seeing him, the case is dropped. However, Laura has forged a warm relationship with many of the smaller investors while working at the company; they responded and sent in their proxies, giving her the right to vote their shares. Laura and McKeever use these votes to replace the entire board. They marry. As a gift to "The Girl Who Has Everything," her husband presents her a single solid gold Cadillac for her birthday.
Cast
Judy Holliday as Laura Partridge
Paul Douglas as Edward L. McKeever
Fred Clark as Clifford Snell, the company treasurer
of The New York Times praised Holliday highly, stating, "the invincible Miss Holliday has dared to project her youthful figure and personality into the character shaped by Miss Hull" and is "knocking the role completely dead." However, he felt that the villains of the piece were neither particularly convincing, original, or formidable enough. He concluded, "it will give you an entertaining ride, but don't expect it to take you or your intelligence very far." The Film4 reviewer agreed that the story was not particularly convincing, but "even so, it's undemanding and amusing."
