The scene opens to a wintry night in the small town of Bedford Falls in the 1940s. From various scenes, people give prayers for the safe return of their beloved husband, father and friend, Chip Oakley. The scene continues to pan up to the sky with a clear night and a view of the stars. Voices of converse emerge in the starry sky far away.
[The scene continues at a view of the starry night sky.]
"Yes, Joseph, what is the matter?" The one voice asks.
"A lot of animals are asking for help for a chipmunk by the name of Chip Oakley," Joseph said.
"Oh, Chip Oakley, you say? Yes, tonight's his crucial night. You are right. Will have to send someone down immediately. Whose turn is it this time, Joseph?" He asked.
"Well, you see, sir, that is why I came to you. It is about whose turn it is to go down." Joseph said.
In a chuckle, "Oh, Joseph, please do not be so modest. Who is that we shall send down for Mr. Oakley?" He asked.
"It's that clockmakers turn again," Joseph said, unamused.
Chuckling once more. "Oh, Dale. Has not got his wings yet, has he?" He said in a questioning manner.
"Well, we've passed him up right along through the process, but as you know, he is not the smartest of the lot. He has the IQ of a rabbit. No sense to that boy at all." Joseph stated.
"Yes, but he has the faith of a child. It is as simple as that. Joseph, send for Dale." He ordered.
Dale then appears as a gleaming star.
"Yes, sir. You sent for me?" Dale asked.
"Yes, Dale. A chipmunk down on earth needs our help desperately." He answered.
"Gosh, is he sick?" Dale asked.
"No, worse. He's discouraged. At exactly 10:45 p.m. Earth time, he will be thinking of throwing away God's greatest gift." He answered.
"Golly, oh, dear, his life? Then I do not have much time to act." Dale said.
"You will spend that hour, Dale, getting acquainted with Chip Oakley." He said.
"Sir, if I may be so bold to ask, but if I complete this task you so wish for me to complete, might I perhaps receive my wings? I have been waiting for over 200 years now, sir, and some are starting to question if I ever will get my wings." Dale explained.
"Dale, you fulfill this task successfully, and you shall receive your wings without delay." He said.
"Sit down, Dale," Joseph said.
"But why?" Dale asked.
"If you are going to help him, then you need to sit down and learn a little bit about him," Joseph said.
"Well, okay, if you insist," Dale said.
"Good, now keep your eyes open and pay attention. Do you see the town below?" Joseph said.
"Where? I can't see anything, Joseph." Dale said.
"Oh, yes, my fault. You have not received your wings yet. Now pay attention; I'll help you out. Concentrate, Dale. See anything yet?" Joseph asked.
"Yes, this is amazing," Dale said.
"Good, do you see the chipmunk right there in the bomber jacket?" Joseph asked.
"Yes, who is he?" Dale asked.
"That's your problem. That is Chip Oakley." Joseph said.
"The kid? He seems awfully happy to be contemplating such a decision." Dale said.
"No, Dale, this is Chip Oakley when he was a child in 1919. Now pay attention. There is something here you will have to remember later." Joseph said.
[The scene continues from an icy frozen pond, with a group of various friends of Chip and his brother Harry.]
Cupping his hands around his mouth to magnify the volume of his voice. "And here comes the scare-baby, my little brother, Harry." Chip stated.
Harry on the sled. "I'm not scared. I'll show you how fast I can ride down this hill." He stated boldly.
Harry then slides down the hill and onto the ice. "How do you like that, Chip?" He said, sticking his tongue out.
"Ah, that's easy." He replied in a cocky manner.
Harry then comes closer to an opening in the pond where the water is not frozen.
"Chip! Help!" He said, sliding right into the water.
Chip slid down the ice as fast as possible and jumped in the water after him.
"Hang on, Harry. I've got you." Chip said.
"Chip saved his brother's life that day but caught a cold as a result of it and had a pretty bad ear infection too. He lost hearing in his left ear, and it took him weeks before he was able to return to work." Joseph said.
"Golly, that's a shame to hear, or not hear," Dale said, attempting to contain his giggles.
"Yes, yes, Dale. Now pipe down and pay attention. Will continue you this through to after he returns to work from his cold." Joseph said.
[The scene resumes with Chip entering the shop and daunting his apron.]
"You're late, slacker!" Mr. Gower said.
"Yes, sir, I do apologize for that." Chip said.
Chip returns behind the counter and hangs his coat up.
"Hello, Chip. Hello, Gadget." Tammy says.
"Hello, Tammy." Gadget says in an unassumed tone.
"What will it be, Tammy?" Chip asked.
"Two cents worth of shoelaces, please, Chipper," Tammy said.
"Sure, but could you please not call me Chipper. I prefer Chip." He said.
"Oh, certainly, Chip, but you should help Gadget. She was here first. " Tammy said.
Gadget with her back to Tammy. "I'm still deciding." She said.
"Here you are." Chip said, passing the shoelaces.
"Thanks, Chipp- I mean, Chip. Could you help me down?" Tammy said, passing the two pennies.
"Help you down? Your legs work, don't they?" Chip asked.
Tammy huffed in a fuss and stormed off with her purchased shoelaces. Chip returns behind the counter.
"Have you decided yet?" He asked.
"I'll have a scope of chocolate, please." Gadget asked.
"With coconut?" Chip said.
"No, I don't like coconut." Gadget said.
"You don't like coconuts? Say, don't you know where coconuts come from? Look It Here." Chip said, displaying a National Geographic Society magazine.
"Wow, I've never seen one of these magazines before. I've heard of them but never got the chance to see them." She said.
Chip takes the magazine away. "Oh, you haven't; only us explorers have gotten to read them. I'm a proud nominated member of the National Geographic Society." He said proudly, pointing to himself.
Chip then bends down to reach for a scoop of ice cream. Gadget leans over the counter.
"Is this the ear you can't hear in?" Gadget asks, awaiting a response.
There is no response.
"Chip Oakley, I will love you till the day I die." She said, smiling.
Chip stands up with a scoop of ice cream. "I'm going to be an explorer one day, you watch. I'll get to travel the world and see the great wonders within it." He said, sprinkling the coconut topping on the chocolate ice cream.
"Chip. Chip!" Mr. Gower States.
"Yes, sir?" Chip answers.
"I'm not paying you to stand around and chat. Get back to work." He snarls.
"Yes, sir." Chip said.
Chip then notices a note on the register. It's a Western Union telegram informing Mr. Gower about the death of his son, Robert. Chip sets the telegram down and proceeds to the back room. Mr. Gower finishes a discussion on the phone and prepares a package of medication.
"Is there anything I can do to help you, Mr. Gower?" Chip asks.
Mr. Gower spills some pills on the floor. "Yeah, pick those capsules up for me and deliver these to Mrs. Blaine." He said.
Mr. Gower goes and sits down in his chair. Chip picks up the capsules and notices the bottle is marked poison. He finished cleaning the capsules and walked over to Mr. Gower with the box in his hand.
"They have diphtheria there, haven't they, sir?" Chip asks.
"Yeah." Mr. Gower said.
"Is it a charge, sir?" Chip asked.
"Yes, Chip." Mr. Gower said, puffing on his cigar.
"Mr. Gower, I…" Chip began to say.
"Oh, get going, will you!" Mr. Gower snarled in frustration.
Chip ran out of the room, conflicted on what he should do. Confront Mr. Gower about the medication he's told to deliver or not deliver them at all. He puts his hat and coat on and then looks up and sees a cigarette advertisement hanging from the window. It reads, "Ask Dad, he knows." Chip then rushes over to the Oakley Bros. Building and Loan Association.
Chip proceeds to enter his father's office but is blocked by his father's business partner, Monterey Jack.
"And where do you think you're going? Your father is very busy, you know." He said.
"I just want to pop in and ask him a question." Chip said.
"Some other time, Chip. It's brewing up to be a bit of a storm in there, and one you certainly do not want to get caught in." Monterey Jack explained.
"Monterey, a telephone call for you." A Secretary said.
"Who is it?" He asked.
"Bank examiner." She responded.
He looked at the string on his fingers. "Crikey, I knew I should have called them yesterday. Put them through on the phone in here for me." He asked.
Monterey Jack left into his office, closing the door behind him.
As Monterey Jack was no longer in sight. Chip seized the opportunity to enter his father's office where he was in an argument with James 'Fat Cat' Potter. The wealthiest man in town.
"I'm not crying, Mr. Potter." Mr. Oakley said.
"Well, your begging seems to be worse. I'm not a charity; I can't keep giving money to your establishment with no guarantee that I will ever get it back." Mr. Potter lectured.
"Dad." Chip said, tugging on his vest.
"Just a minute, son. Now listen here, Mr. Potter, I'm only asking for 30 more days, and I'll dig up that $5,000 somehow." Mr. Oakley said.
Mr. Potter looked at his assistant, pushing his wheelchair. "Shove me up, shove me up." He instructed.
"Dad." Chip said once more.
"Just a minute." He said.
"Have you even put any real pressure on these people to pay those mortgages?" Mr. Potter asked.
"Times are bad with the financial depression, Mr. Potter. A lot of folks are out of the job." He said.
"Well then, foreclose." Mr. Potter suggested.
"I can't do that; they have families and children. Where are they supposed to go if they lose their homes?" Mr. Oakley asked.
"They're not my children, and they're not my problem. Losing money to them is, and I expect better from you. Are you running a business or a damn charity ward?" Mr. Potter asked.
"Well, all right…" He began to respond.
"Not with my money, you're not." Mr. Potter said.
"Mr. Potter, what makes you such a hard-skulled character? Surely, not having a wife or any children and little to no expenses would not be such a wrong thing to allow these occurrences to happen. Would it?" Mr. Oakley asked.
"Oh, I suppose I could just donate all of my fortunes to miserable failures like you and that idiot partner of yours to spend for me. Is that it, Mr. Oakley?" Mr. Potter asked.
"He's not a failure. How dare you call my father a failure." Chip snarled.
"Chip, Chip!" His father called out.
"He's the biggest name in this town. He's not a failure. Don't let him talk to you like that father." Chip said.
"Alright, son, will talk more about this later." Mr. Oakley said, escorting Chip out of his office.
Chip then left the business and back over to the store he worked at.
Mr. Gower was on the phone with Mrs. Blaine, who never received the pills for her child.
"Why, that medicine should have been there an hour ago. It will be over in five minutes, Mrs. Blaine," Mr. Gower said on the phone.
Mr. Gower hangs the phone up and sets it on the counter. He turns to Chip standing next to him.
"Where's that box, a capsule I gave to you to give to Mrs. Blaine?" Mr. Gower asked.
"I...You…" Chip strutted.
Mr. Gower grabbed him by the scruff of his chest and dragged him.
"Did you hear what I said? What kind of tricks are you playing?" Mr. Gower shouted, slapping Chip's left ear.
Chip now began to whimper on the account that his left ear was now bleeding.
Mr. Gower slapped Chip's left ear again. "Why didn't you deliver those capsules right away?" He shouted.
"Ow, you're hurting my sore ear, Mr. Gower. You did something; I know you are upset. I saw the telegram. You put poison in that box. It's not your fault, Mr. Gower, and you just made a mistake." Chip said.
Mr. Gower walked toward Chip.
"Don't hurt my sore ear again." Chip whimpered.
"Oh, no, no." He said, embracing Chip with a hug.
"I know how you're feeling. I won't tell anyone, Mr. Gower." Chip said.
The two remained to hug for a few more moments before breaking from their embrace.