| Director | Carl Reiner |
|---|
David Kolowitz works as a delivery boy and assistant for a machine shop in New York City in 1938, and is fascinated with the movies. Despite the misgivings of his girlfriend Wanda, his parents Morris and Emma, and his employer Mr. Foreman, David follows the suggestion of his friend Marvin and becomes involved with an Off-Broadway theater company run by Harrison B. Marlowe. He admires Ronald Colman so he uses the stage name "Donald Colman".
It is a margin operation that requires him to pay $5 a week for "tuition". Marlowe's daughter Angela takes a romantic interest in David, who perseveres despite a lack of acting talent and the hostility of Marlowe. Overcoming all the difficulties, he makes his acting debut and Morris, Emma and Wanda accept his new interest. In the end Angela waives David's tuition fee, allowing him to "act for nothing".