Summary
Norma Carter decides that pretending to be losing her marbles is better than marrying her dreary cousin Willy. She ends up at Dr. Nutts's clinic, where she meets Alberto, a guy hiding from a very angry, very jealous husband. They eventually break out, dodge a bunch of people who want them locked away, and somehow end up deciding that being 'insane' in love is the only way to survive the real world.
Synopsis
Betrothed to her bilious and neurasthenic cousin, Willy McRay, Norma Carter feigns insanity before her rich aunt and uncle in order to be committed to Dr. Nutts's sanitarium so that she can escape the union. Alberto Foster, another patient, pretends to be insane in order to avoid the wrath of his former mistress' husband, who has vowed to kill him as soon as Alberto is well enough to be a worthy opponent. Alberto meets Norma and invites her for drinks on his parked airplane, as alcohol is not permitted on the sanitarium grounds. Dr. Nutts learns of Alberto's flirtations and tells Norma that the clinic is filled with spies looking for people who are not really insane. Fearing that Alberto may be a spy, Norma behaves like a lunatic for him, but he is more charmed than ever by her madcap behavior and sneaks her out of the sanitarium for an evening on the town. The couple go to a cabaret in New York, and when Nutts discovers their absence, he pursues them with Harry, a sanitarium attendant and friend of Alberto. Hugo Rock, the jealous husband, appears at the club, and Alberto disguises himself with a false mustache. When the mustache falls off while he and Norma dance, Hugo screams and chases Alberto. Nutts arrives and joins the chase, and the couple are later found by police at Alberto's flat. At a court hearing, the greedy Dr. Nutts declares that Norma needs permanent care at his clinic and that Alberto is perfectly sane. The judge decides to have the couple observed by state "alienists" to determine their sanity or insanity. The alienists, who watch Alberto and Norma on a closed-circuit television monitor, report that they suffer from "incandescent love" and are quiet and harmless, but should be isolated. The cabaret owner, who wants restitution for his ruined business, Dr. Nutts, Norma's uncle, Harry and Hugo await the verdict, and when they begin to argue, the alienists accidentally change the channel and observe the group, whom they diagnose as furiously mad. The cabaret owner, Norma's uncle, and Hugo are then all committed. Later, Norma and Alberto, in a peaceful sanitarium-like setting, sing with their brood of lovely children about the sanity of insanity in a world filled with war and fascism.
Review Excerpt
"Is this thing worth your time?
If you like movies where people just start acting like absolute lunatics because the plot demands it, you might find some charm here. If you need a script that follows basic logic or, you know, laws of reality, you should probably skip it. It’s for the folks who want to see a 1930s-era romp where everyone is constantly yelling and disguises involve nothing more than a cheap fake mustache. 🎭
The whole premise of checking yourself into a mental clinic just to avoid..."
