Like the works of his grandfather and father, Benchley's plot features an insignificant individual who in his fashion tries to be true to his principles and to survive in an organization inimical to ideals. Grandfather Robert Benchley wrote comic skits featuring this type of little man and acted in motion pictures in the roles of such persons. The character Timothy Burnham varies from Robert Benchley's "little man" in that he is intelligent, and his intelligence has helped him do what his job requires while avoiding any deep involvement in the systems around him. An arbitrary decision by some unknown superior ends this. By accident he is the only speech writer available on a certain evening when President Winslow, infuriated by what he thinks is an incompetent speech, calls Timothy's office......
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