Champagne for Caesar

Beauregard and his sister Gwenn switch on a television quiz show, Masquerade for Money, and are drawn into the spectacle: contestants dress in costumes, the questions depend on the outfit, and the prize money doubles with each correct answer. Beauregard, though a polymath, is openly contemptuous of the gimmick and mocks the format. The show is hosted by Happy Hogan and sponsored by Milady soap, setting the stage for the rivalry to come.

An employment bureau representative nudges Beauregard to interview with Milady. He meets Burnbridge Waters, the eccentric owner who disapproves of his humor and intellect. Waters rejects him, planting the seed for Beauregard's cunning revenge.

To exact revenge, Beauregard returns as a contestant on Masquerade for Money, disguising himself as an encyclopedia so the host can ask him about any subject. He answers the questions with ease, earning $320 in that appearance. He declines the prize, signaling his plan to return next week.

Waters invites Beauregard back for a six-week run with one question per show as a publicity stunt. The format drives ratings for Masquerade and boosts Milady soap sales, making Beauregard the show's centerpiece. He agrees, knowing the questions will test his breadth of knowledge.

At the end of the six weeks, Waters proposes an impossibly hard question. Beauregard answers it correctly, and Happy begins probing for a weakness. Gwenn hints that Beauregard intends to win a fortune, but Waters cancels the show and sends a $40,000 check that Beauregard refuses to accept.

With Milady soap sales plummeting, Waters reinstitutes the show. As Beauregard nears the $10 million mark, Waters recruits Flame O'Neill to distract him. The added distraction shifts the show's dynamics and intensifies the performers' tension.

Flame pretends to be a nurse sent to care for Beauregard after a cold, and he quickly falls for her. She uses manipulation to keep him off balance and hints at infidelity to test his resolve. The romance deepens as he ignores warning signs.

On the night of the next big question about Einstein's spacetime theory, Beauregard admits he never mastered it. Flame betrays him by offering an answer she thinks is wrong, but Einstein phones the studio to confirm the answer is correct. Beauregard confronts Flame, and both realize their feelings have grown despite the deception.

Waters books the Hollywood Bowl for the final show. Happy and Gwenn plan to marry, as do Beauregard and Flame, but both couples worry that their partners could be chasing money. They each phone their fiancés, only to be given vague excuses that fuel mutual suspicion.

For the final question, Happy asks Beauregard to name his Social Security number. He answers incorrectly, but Flame and Happy still want to marry the Bottomley siblings. Waters visits Beauregard's home bearing gifts, and is recognized by Beauregard and Gwenn's dipsomaniac parrot Caesar, whom he had lost in college.

As Beauregard and Flame drive toward Las Vegas to get married, he reveals that he and Waters made a deal: Beauregard would lose in exchange for his own radio show and stock. His main reason to accept the arrangement was to test Flame's feelings, and he admits that he really did not know his Social Security number.