Notice to all tyrant supervisors out there - there is no wrath like that of a trio of women scorned. Nine to Five pitted three corporate employees against a “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot” and provided laughs aplenty as the co-workers exacted their revenge in this surprise 1980 hit.

Judy (played by Jane Fonda in a rare comedic role) has just been dumped by her cheating husband and is forced into the corporate world. Landing a job as a secretary, she soon befriends Violet (Lily Tomlin,) the under-appreciated brains behind her egotistical boss, Frank (Dabney Coleman) and Doralee (Dolly Parton in her first film appearance,) the buxom personal secretary to Frank.

The women are gradually reaching their boiling point working under Frank at Consolidated. Violet is repeatedly turned down for promotions, Judy is tired of waging war against the company photocopy machine, and Doralee is the victim of rumors spread by Frank that the two are having an affair. After a girl’s night out, in which each offers their own comical fantasy of what they would like to see happen to Frank, including being roasted over a fire and hunting him down in the office with a shotgun, they return to the office the next day only to see one of the fantasies actually played out. Violet, who dreamed up the fantasy of poisoning Frank, accidentally puts rat poison in his coffee, thinking it is artificial sweetener. Luckily, before Frank can drink the coffee, he falls victim to a faulty office chair and knocks himself unconscious. Arriving at the hospital, the women overhear the police talking about a poisoning and assume they are talking about Frank.

The next day, they are surprised to learn that Frank is not only fine, but back in the office. Thanks to an eavesdropping co-worker, however, he knows more about the previous night than they would prefer. When he attempts to blackmail Doralee into having an affair with him, she proves to have had enough – proceeding to hogtie her boss, and with the other women’s help, kidnap him. They hold him hostage in his own home, bound by a harness and dog collar, which they can control with a remote-controlled garage door opener. With Frank out of the picture now, the three take over the company - implementing a number of innovations like daycare and allowing employees to put pictures and plants in their cubicles. The result is markedly improved productivity and overall morale. Frank eventually escapes his bondage and arrives back at work ready to throw everyone in jail. A surprise visit by Frank’s boss, Tinsdale, is about the only thing that can save the day for his trio of captors.

Dolly Parton sang the theme song for Nine to Five, a film that connected with every mistreated co-worker that had ever stepped foot into a corporate environment. Its huge success would lead to two television series, in 1982 and 1986, and a stage adaptation of the film is slated for 2009 - ready to fuel the fantasies of a whole new generation of mistreated office workers. Bosses beware.