Summary
Billy, a small-town draper with a terror of mothers-in-law, constructs a paper-thin alibi of a San Francisco buying trip to dodge the dreaded maternal visitation; in truth he plans a moonlight escapade with two flirtatious lady buyers whose purses are as deep as their morals are shallow. While the SS Phantom slips from the pier, Billy dives overboard, swims ashore, and spirits his companions to a fog-drenched roadhouse where jazz, gin, and whispered promises swirl like incense before the raid sirens scream. The raid collapses Billy’s fantasy: no shipwreck, no business, no alibi—only handcuffs and the spectacle of his bride waltzing in on the arm of obliging neighbors. Salvation arrives in the guise of the feared mother-in-law, revealed to be the very buxom buyer whose laughter has haunted the night; her wink dissolves Billy’s prejudice in a single heartbeat, turning farce into forgiveness beneath the flickering carbide lamps.
Synopsis
Billy simply has no use for mothers-in-law, and when his bride informs him that "mother" is coming for a visit, he digs up an excuse concerning a business trip to 'Frisco. It is only camouflage on Billy's part, for his real reason is to meet a couple of lady buyers who are sportively inclined. And that's where the complications begin. Wifey must see him off on the boat which gets his "goat," since he knows he is in for a healthy bath in swimming back to town. The bride, in the meantime, is entertained at a shady roadhouse by friendly neighbors, and Billy takes his buyers there to drink at the shrine of Bacchus. The upshot of it all is, the place is raided, and Billy finds out that his story of the sinking boat is a figment of his imagination. But mother-in-law arrives in time to restore amicable relations. And Billy finds that his prejudice hasn't a leg to stand on for she proves to be his fair companion - the buxom buyer.
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