Stand-In

Amid the Great Depression, Fowler Pettypacker debates whether to sell Colossal Pictures to Ivor Nassau. Financial analyst Atterbury Dodd stakes his reputation on a mathematical forecast that the studio can be profitable if kept independent. The bank ultimately sends Dodd to Hollywood to take over as the studio's new head.

Thelma Cheri, eccentric director Koslofski, and press agent Tom Potts join Nassau in a plot to bankrupt Colossal by inflating production costs on the jungle feature Sex and Satan. They hope the losses will ruin the studio and stack the odds in Nassau's favor.

In Hollywood, Dodd meets Lester Plum, a cheerful former child star now working as a stand-in for Cheri. Plum becomes Dodd's secretary and a patient teacher about the realities of filmmaking. Dodd begins to see workers as people rather than numbers.

Under Plum's tutelage, Dodd's worldview shifts toward valuing the studio's people. Plum falls in love with Dodd, though Dodd remains unaware of her feelings.

Dodd views a screening of Sex and Satan and is unimpressed by the film's quality. Koslofski immediately blames Quintain for the disappointing result.

Quintain had discovered Cheri and fallen for her, creating a complicated dynamic. Cheri sides with Koslofski in the blame game, deepening tensions.

Following the conflicts, Dodd fires Quintain to placate the conspirators and take control of the project. The firing signals a shift in leadership and intensifies the studio's power struggle.

An audience preview confirms the film is terrible, with viewers preferring the ape over Cheri's performance. The feedback underscores the need for drastic changes.

Quintain, sober after a drunken binge, proposes salvaging Sex and Satan by trimming Cheri's part and expanding the ape. The idea promises a marketable pivot to save the project.

Pettypacker phones Dodd to say he has sold the studio to Nassau and that Dodd is fired. This betrayal triggers Dodd's resolve to resist and fight for the workers.

Dodd convinces the initially hostile workers to rally behind him to finish the film. Their collective effort turns a crisis into a chance to salvage the studio.

With the crew united and the project back on track, Dodd asks Plum to marry him. The personal and professional turnaround marks the film's hopeful turn.