The film stars Whoopi Goldberg as an out-of-work actress who starts making some prank phone calls which creates a chain of events.

The film was released on January 22, 1988, by New World Pictures to negative critical reception and poor box office.

Set mostly in a small San Francisco apartment and almost in real-time, Vashti Blue is an out-of-work actress who returns to her home that she shares with her pets goldfish and an owl.

On the answering machine, Vashti listens to her messages and hears her agent remind her of an audition, as well as a notification about her overdue telephone bill.

Throughout the night, Vashti entertains herself by dialing different telephone numbers, and talking to the local food market, video store, police station, and her friend, Jennifer.

The final shot shows Vashti trying to phone the police to report the incident, in which its heard for the first time that the telephone that she has been talking into throughout the film has no dial tone.

The Telephone was produced by Hawkeye, a company formed by screenwriter Terry Southern and singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson.