In the days of party lines, there was often contention on access. In the postwar era, many people wanted a private line, but there was inadequate capacity in some areas to provide it due to very high demand.
In 1959, Universal Pictures made a comedy about this starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day as two frustrated party line users.
Personally, I thought the film was rather foolish, but it got good reviews.
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It will air on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) on Thursday, October 18 @
12:00 AM (check local listings).