Two inmates plan to break out of prison, warn a pal about a scam and then get back behind bars in Up the River, part of a John Ford comedy double bill. In When Willie Comes Marching Home, a young man (Dan Dailey) enlists after Pearl Harbor hoping to see combat. But Willie becomes a laughingstock when he's assigned to a new military base in his hometown, and in a bid to finally win some respect, he volunteers for a dangerous mission.