A publicity man leaves a carnival and promotes a singer in
New York with wild schemes but becomes jealous of her new producer.
Carnival acts compete for few dollars, and Jimmy Bates (Lee Tracy)
tells Achilles (Eugene Pallette) they need a better press agent.
Because of a blonde, Teresita (Lupe Velez) goes after Jimmy with
a gun. He takes the gun, fires it, and tells her to scream; he
pretends to be wounded to stir the crowd, promising to reveal
her father. Teresita wants to go to New York and calls Jimmy a
fake. Drunk Achilles speaks to detectives, who close the show
and try to arrest Jimmy. He runs away with Teresita and Achilles
to Broadway.
Jimmy calls Teresita a princess and gets the imperial suite, implying
that Achilles is a eunuch. Achilles says he buried their cash.
Jimmy pretends to call Merle Farrell (Frank Morgan) and takes
him a message while he is rehearsing his follies. Farrell has
Jimmy thrown out. A maid says Achilles is different. Teresita
has ordered clothes. Jimmy has a piano crate delivered and orders
thirty pounds of raw meat. Reporters arrive, and Jimmy lets a
lion into the room. He says Farrell has hired the princess. Farrell
reads the news and hears Jimmy broadcasting from a plane. Farrell
accepts the idea, and Jimmy comes in with contracts. Farrell meets
Teresita and signs. Jimmy plays piano as Teresita sings the jazzy
carpenter song. Jimmy says that she is not a Turk and laughs.
Farrell creates a mood of eastern mystery for her dance, but the
audience is bored. Jimmy cuts the curtain cord and goes on stage
to say the dance must stop. He has her sing and dance the jazzy
carpenter song, pleasing the audience.
Teresita tells Jimmy that Farrell is sending him on the road,
and Jimmy decides to promote the maid Ella Beebee. Teresita dines
with Farrell, and a photo is taken. Jimmy takes reporters to a
nudist colony to interview Ella. Farrell sees the photo in his
office and makes sure that Jimmy is fired, telling Teresita he
has a family. Jimmy comes in to say goodbye to Farrell and ignores
Teresita. Ella and Achilles are paraded on a car nude. When police
arrest them, Jimmy threatens to sue New York. Farrell gives Teresita
two weeks notice by phone and plans a march of the nudes with
Ella. Jimmy runs a successful publicity business. Achilles tells
him that he bought the carnival. Later Jimmy gets a telegram from
Achilles asking for help. Farrell is divorced and plans to marry
Ella. Jimmy goes away to Achilles' carnival and sees Teresita
singing. He tells her he has a surprise for her.
This satire of the publicity business implies that New York
has the most suckers.