The Toy

Dec 10, 1982

1h 42m

★ 5.9

When Jackie Gleason told his son he could have any present he wanted, he picked the most outrageous gift of all...Richard Pryor.

Overview

On one of his bratty son Eric's annual visits, the plutocrat U.S. Bates takes him to his department store and offers him anything in it as a gift. Eric chooses a black janitor who has made him laugh with his antics. At first the man suffers many indignities as Eric's "toy", but gradually teaches the lonely boy what it is like to have and to be a friend.

Genres

Comedy

Family

Production Companies

Delphi Films

Columbia Pictures

Rastar Productions

The Toy Trailers

Cast

Jack Brown

Richard Pryor

Ulysses Simpson 'U.S.' Bates

Jackie Gleason

Sydney Morehouse

Ned Beatty

Eric Bates

Scott Schwartz

Fancy Bates

Teresa Ganzel

Barkley

Wilfrid Hyde-White

Clifford

Tony King

Angela

Annazette Chase

O'Brien

Don Hood

Fraulein

Karen Leslie-Lyttle

Ruby Simpson

Virginia Capers

State Trooper

Steve Kahan

The wealthiest man in the world, John P. Merrick, is a private person who likes to stay anonymous. One of his many assets is Neeley's Department Store. There is labor unrest at the store, and the employees' anger is directed at him, who they hang in effigy outside the store despite not knowing what he looks like. Merrick, not happy at what he sees going on, decides to mete out the rabble-rousers. So he goes undercover as a sales clerk in the shoe department.

6.2

Bundle of Joy

Dec 12, 1956

Kitschy musical remake of "Bachelor Mother". Debbie Reynolds plays an over-eager clerk in a large department store and Eddie Fisher plays the boss' son. After getting fired from her job, she finds an adorable baby on the steps of the foundling home and the folks inside mistake her for the mother. Fisher, well-meaning, but obtuse, tries to help her out with the baby, and the buds of romance begin to appear. Meanwhile old Merlin, the owner of the store, thinks he just might be a grandfather...

6.9

Some Kind of Wonderful

Feb 27, 1987

Keith Nelson, an artsy high school outcast, tries to land a date with popular girl Amanda Jones with some help from his tomboy best friend, Watts. However, Watts realizes she likes Keith as more than just a friend and tries to convince him to stop pursuing Amanda. Matters are further complicated when Keith's invitation draws the ire of Amanda's rich yet snobby ex-boyfriend, Hardy Jenns, who makes plans to get even.

4.8

Are You Being Served? The Movie

Jun 10, 1977

In this feature film version of the popular BBC sitcom, the staff of Grace Brothers go on holiday to Costa Plonka, where they find themselves in the middle of a revolution.

7.2

Vagabond Lady

May 3, 1935

Josephine Spiggins is thinking of marrying John Spear, the stuffed-shirt son of a department store owner. When John's free-spirit brother Tony returns from touring the South Seas in his boat, the "Vagabond Lady," Jo is attracted to him instead.

6.7

Ladies in Black

Oct 18, 2018

Adapted from the bestselling novel by Madeleine St John, Ladies in Black is an alluring and tender-hearted comedy drama about the lives of a group of department store employees in 1959 Sydney.

7.7

Safety Last!

Apr 1, 1923

When a store clerk organizes a contest to climb the outside of a tall building, circumstances force him to make the perilous climb himself.

6.8

Holiday Affair

Dec 12, 1949

Just before Christmas, department store clerk Steve Mason meets big spending customer Connie Ennis, who's actually a comparison shopper sent by another store. Steve lets her go, which gets him fired. They spend the afternoon together, which doesn't sit well with Connie's steady suitor, Carl, when he finds out, but delights her young son Timmy, who quickly takes to Steve.

5.6

Odette Toulemonde

Feb 7, 2007

Objectively, Odette Toulemonde has nothing to be happy about, but is. Balthazar Balsan has everything to be happy about, but isn’t. Odette, awkwardly forty, with a delightful hairdresser son and a daughter bogged down in adolescence, spends her days behind the cosmetic’s counter in a department store and her nights sewing feathers on costumes for Parisian variety shows. She dreams of thanking Balthazar Balsan, her favorite author, to whom – she believes – she owes her optimism. The rich and charming Parisian writer then turns up in her life in an unexpected way.

6.6

Bad Santa

Nov 26, 2003

You'd better watch out - Santa Claus Willie T. Soke is coming to town, and he doesn't care if you've been naughty or nice. Wille's favorite holiday tradition is to fill his sacks with loot lifted from shopping malls across the country. But this year his plot gets derailed by a wisecracking store detective, a sexy bartender, and a kid who's convinced Willie is the real Santa Claus.

6.9

Mannequin

Feb 13, 1987

Jonathan Switcher, an unemployed artist, finds a job as an assistant window dresser for a department store. When Jonathan happens upon a beautiful mannequin he previously designed, she springs to life and introduces herself as Emmy, an Egyptian under an ancient spell. Despite interference from the store's devious manager, Jonathan and his mannequin fall in love while creating eye-catching window displays to keep the struggling store in business.

7.4

Miracle on 34th Street

Jun 4, 1947

Kris Kringle, seemingly the embodiment of Santa Claus, is asked to portray the jolly old fellow at Macy's following his performance in the Thanksgiving Day parade. His portrayal is so complete that many begin to question if he truly is Santa Claus, while others question his sanity.

6.8

Miracle on 34th Street

Nov 18, 1994

Six-year-old Susan Walker has doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle—Santa Claus. Her mother told her the secret about Santa a long time ago, but, after meeting a special department store Santa who's convinced he's the real thing, Susan is given the most precious gift of all—something to believe in.

7.1

Bluebeard's 8th Wife

Mar 25, 1938

American multi-millionaire Michael Brandon marries his eighth wife, Nicole, the daughter of a broke French Marquis. But she doesn't want to be only a number in the line of his ex-wives and undertakes her own strategy to tame him.

5.8

Mannequin Two: On the Move

May 17, 1991

Although Jason works as a department store clerk, he is also a reincarnated prince. Long ago, his beloved Jessie was snatched away from him by an evil wizard who used his powers to transform her into wooden statue. Now Jessie is in Jason's department store as a mannequin. When he encounters her, she awakens from her thousand-year sleep. They quickly revive their romance, but the evil wizard has been reincarnated as well, and he's up to no good.

7.1

Bachelor Mother

Jun 30, 1939

Polly Parrish, a clerk at Merlin's Department Store, is mistakenly presumed to be the mother of a foundling. Outraged at Polly's unmotherly conduct, David Merlin becomes determined to keep the single woman and "her" baby together.

5.5

Christmas at Cartwright's

Dec 7, 2014

With Christmas approaching, a struggling single mom finds herself working as a department store Santa Claus, as a real-life angel delivers good fortune and the possibility of holiday romance.

6.9

Christmas in July

Oct 25, 1940

An office clerk loves entering contests in the hopes of someday winning a fortune and marrying the girl he loves. His latest attempt is the Maxford House Coffee Slogan Contest. As a joke, some of his co-workers put together a fake telegram which says that he won the $25,000 grand prize.

6.3

Super Sweet 16: The Movie

Jul 7, 2007

Two best friends try to outdo each other as their respective sweet 16 parties approach.

5.4

Simply Irresistible

Feb 5, 1999

After her mother's death, mediocre chef Amanda Shelton is having trouble attracting customers to her family's restaurant. While shopping for ingredients, she is given a magical crab by mysterious Gene O'Reilly. Afterward, Amanda's dishes suddenly become excellent, inducing strong emotional reactions in everyone who eats them. Tom Bartlett, who is preparing to open his own eatery, tries her cooking and falls in love.