At a shareholders meeting for International Projects, a billion dollar corporation, John T. Blessington (John Williams) announces that he is replacing Edward L. McKeever (Paul Douglas), 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 (Judy Holliday), 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 (Neva Patterson), with secret instructions to obstruct her as much as possible. The conscientious Miss Partridge, discovering there is nothing 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 (Arthur O'Connell).
When the directors find out, they fire Amelia. However, Laura discovers that Blessington's thoroughly unqualified brother-in-law, Harry Harkness (Hiram Sherman), has driven a competitor into bankruptcy, unaware that 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. McKeever uses these votes to replace the entire Board. He marries Laura. In gratitude for rescuing the company, the shareholders make a gift of a solid gold Cadillac to the happy couple.
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