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After
Harold Diddlebock, a bumbling freshman water boy, scores the winning
touchdown for his college's football team, he is approached by alumnus E. J.
Waggleberry. In the excitement of the moment, Waggleberry, an
advertising tycoon, offers Harold a job upon his graduation but, when Harold
appears in the executive's New York office four years later, Waggleberry
fails to remember him. Although Harold dreams of becoming an "ideas
man," Waggleberry assigns him to a lowly position in the bookkeeping
department.
Twenty-two years later, the platitude-spouting
Harold is still working as a bookkeeper when he is fired by Waggleberry for
incompetence and lack of ambition. Before leaving the agency, Harold
collects his life savings and confesses to Miss Otis, an artist with the
firm, that he is in love with her. Recalling her six older sisters,
all of whom he fell in love with but never proposed to, Harold then gives
Miss Otis the engagement ring he bought for her eldest sister years before.
Later,
on the street, a depressed Harold is studying the classifieds when Wormy, a
racetrack tout, asks him for four dollars. After Harold hands the
pesky Wormy a large bill, Wormy, sensing an opportunity, insists on taking
his sad "friend" to a bar. There, bartender Jake concocts a special
drink for Harold, who has never imbibed alcohol. The drink, which Jake
proudly dubs "The Diddlebock," emboldens Harold and causes him to yowl
uncontrollably. Gazing at himself in the bar mirror, Harold suddenly
declares himself a loser and races out to remake himself.
Soon Harold is getting his hair cut and his
nails manicured, and is trying on a gaudy suit supplied by tailor Formfit
Franklin. In the midst of his transformation, Harold overhears Wormy
talking with Max, a bookmaker's assistant, and impulsively bets $1,000 on a
long shot named Emmaline. To everyone's surprise, Emmaline wins, and
the now-rich Harold begins to celebrate all around town.
Sometime later, Harold is awakened at home by
his widowed sister Flora, who chastises him for his wild, irresponsible
behavior and hideous clothes. Unable to remember much about his
drunken binge, particularly about what he did on Wednesday, Harold wanders
outside and is surprised to learn that he now owns a hansom cab and employs
an English driver named Thomas. A worried Wormy then rushes up and
informs Harold that, with winnings from a second bet, Harold also bought a
bankrupt circus. To feed the circus' starving lions and tigers, Harold
first seeks help from the Kitty-Poo Home for Cats, then gets the idea to
sell the circus to Wall Street banker Lynn Sargent.
Although
circus lover Sargent reveals that he, too, is trying to unload an
unprofitable big top, Harold immediately comes up with another scheme.
With Jackie, a tame circus lion, in tow, Harold and Wormy visit other
bankers and suggest that, to improve their public image, they invest in a
free circus for children. Jackie's presence causes a screaming panic,
and soon Jackie, Harold and Wormy end up on the ledge of a skyscraper
window. After nearly falling to their deaths, the trio is arrested and
thrown in jail. As hoped, Harold's picture appears in the newspaper,
but it is Miss Otis, not the bankers, who comes to bail him out.
When Thomas then reveals that the newspaper
listed the wrong police station in its story, Harold and Wormy rush to the
other station and are relieved to see a mob of bankers there. The
bankers bid desperately on the circus, but are quickly outbid by a
representative of the Ringling Brothers circus. To celebrate, Harold downs a
"Diddlebock." Sometime later, he finds himself in his cab with Miss
Otis. Although Miss Otis informs him that he received $175,000 for the
circus and has been made an executive at Waggleberry's firm, Harold notices
that she is wearing a wedding ring and becomes depressed. Miss Otis
then reveals that, during his last "Diddlebock" binge, he married her.
Reassuring Harold that she truly loves him, Miss Otis gives him a big kiss,
and Harold finally remembers what he was doing on Wednesday. |
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