| Director | Peter Ustinov |
|---|---|
| Genre | comedy film, drama film |
| Runtime | 108 min |
| Country | United States |
Billy Breedlove is an orderly at a Texas psychiatric hospital. He simultaneously falls under the spell of two people: a blonde waitress at a local diner named Jimmie Jean Jackson and an allegedly sociopathic hospital patient named Hammersmith, who is restrained in a straitjacket within a locked cell.
Hammersmith promises Billy a new life with fame and fortune if he is released from his incarceration. Billy agrees to free Hammersmith, provided that Jimmie Jean can accompany their escape. The three make their way into adventures where Hammersmith murders people and steals property as the means for elevating Billy's social and financial status. Billy becomes the owner of a topless bar, the owner of a pharmaceutical company, an oil tycoon, the financier of political campaigns and a roving ambassador-at-large for the United States.
Over time, Billy comes to loathe Jimmie Jean. However, Hammersmith takes an interest in her and grants her wish that she should become a mother. Hammersmith arranges for Billy to become disabled in a water skiing accident, and then convinces him to commit suicide. The head of the psychiatric hospital locates Hammersmith and has him returned to his incarceration – where he begins to promise fame and fortune to another orderly.