In the Great Depression, an overbearing millionaire named Ezra Ounce (Hugh Herbert) has become a moral arbitrator for the public good, despite the ditzy disapproval of his sister Mathilda Ounce Hemingway (Zasu Pitts). He wants to change the loose morality of Broadway shows. Yet, his distant relative Jimmy Higgens (Dick Powell) is producing one of those depraved shows and casting Barbara (Ruby Keeler), another niece of Ounce in the lead. Jimmy must deal with unscrupulous backers, but his friend Mabel Anderson (Joan Blondell) is not above blackmailing Horace Hemingway (Guy Kibbee) for the money to put on the show, even though she is star Barbara’s father whom she has known in a compromising situation.