Summary
A chaotic maritime farce, It's a Pipe follows a young woman, her suitor, and her curmudgeonly father as they embark on a voyage to Ireland. The journey is quickly upended by the discovery of Abie, a love-struck stowaway who has infiltrated the vessel to remain near the girl. To avoid the wrath of the crew and the girl's father, Abie adopts a frantic disguise in feminine attire, leading to a series of awkward encounters in the ship's ladies' salon. Parallel to this romantic pursuit, the father engages in a silent war of attrition with his daughter over his forbidden clay pipe. The narrative takes a surreal turn when a violent storm destroys the ship, casting the survivors onto a desert island. In a bizarre final act, Abie transitions from a fugitive in drag to a colonial opportunist, manipulating the local tribe to secure a political appointment as Mayor and finally winning the hand of the girl through sheer, nonsensical bravado.
Synopsis
A girl, her suitor and her father, sailing to Ireland, discover that Abie, who has fallen in love with girl, has stowed away on the ship. In order to escape detection, Abie dons feminine attire and mingles with the passengers and guests in the ladies' salon. Throughout, the father tries to sneak a smoke on hid old clay pipe over his daughter's objection. A storm comes up, the ship sinks and all the survivors are washed ashore on a desert island (in the Atlantic?). Abie talks the cannibal chief into a partnership and has himself appointed Mayor, and marries the girl.