Our hero, J. Pierrepont Finch, runs into many obstacles and overcomes them like a modern, comic Siegfried: there's his rival (the boss's nephew), the mailroom trap, the office wolf, the office party, the dangerous secretary, the board meeting, jealous executives and, of course, the big boss himself.

From the first coffee break to the last elevator load on Friday night, office life is never the same once "Ponty" Finch settles in for the trip to the top.