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For eight years, browbeaten drunk Ambrose Wolfinger has supported his second wife Leona's priggish mother, Cordelia Neselrode, and her loafer brother Claude, while his own daughter Hope continues to work.  When, in the middle of the night, two sentimental burglars get drunk in the cellar on Ambrose's homemade applejack, Ambrose and a policeman join them in song.  Ambrose reluctantly turns the burglars in, only to have them released when the judge arrests him for manufacturing liquor without a license.

Ambrose, who is a memory expert for the absent-minded president of Malloy Manufacturing Company, then gets the afternoon off for the world's heavyweight wrestling championship by lying to his boss about the death of his mother-in-law from poison liquor.  Malloy's assistant, Mr.  Peabody, then alerts the press, and Ambrose's loyal co-workers send flowers and condolences en masse to the Wolfingers' home, where Cordelia reads her own shameful obituary with horror.

On his way to the match, Ambrose is harassed by numerous policemen and arrives just as the last ticket is sold, while inside Claude enjoys the front row seat he stole from Ambrose.  When the Russian wrestler Tosoff is thrown from the ring, he lands on top of Ambrose, who falls unconscious on the street.  Ambrose's secretary, who is also attending the match, comes to his aid, after which Claude publicly accuses him of being drunk in the gutter with his secretary, and Peabody fires him.

At home, Ambrose defends himself against Claude's accusation and knocks him out when he insults Hope, causing Leona to kick him out of his own home.  After Malloy learns Peabody fired Ambrose, he orders him to get him back, and Hope, receiving Peabody's phone call, secures Ambrose a substantial raise and a long vacation.  Leona then has a change of heart and, insisting Claude go to work, defies her mother's disdain for Ambrose and goes back to him.

While the Wolfingers ride in Ambrose's new car in the rain, Cordelia and Claude get soaked in the rumble seat.