Wisecracking comedian W.C. Fields stars as professor Eustace McGargle, a carnival con man who tries to pass his niece Poppy (Rochelle Hudson) off as the heiress to a vast estate, even though another trickster (Catherine Doucet) has already laid claim to it. Based on the musical comedy that made Fields a Broadway star in 1923, this film features his now famous quip "Never give a sucker an even break."