When a luxury liner is upturned by a tidal wave on New Year's Eve, ten survivors struggle to stay alive as they seek a means of escape. Resourceful man of the cloth Reverend Frank Scott (Gene Hackman) assumes responsibility for his fellow passengers, who include a pop singer, an elderly Jewish couple and a New York detective.

Jerry Lewis stars as near-sighted chemistry teacher Julius Kelp in this comedy classic. In order to help him get close to his favourite student Stella Purdy (Stella Stevens) and to overcome the humiliation that's been heaped on him all his life, Julius invents a special formula intended to transform him from a shy, timid academic into a handsome casanova. The experiment works well, turning Julius into the incorrigible Buddy Love and giving him the courage to approach his beloved Stella, but it is a transformation which tends to wear off at the most unexpected moments....