Summary
A retiring bank cashier’s dynastic daydream—Peter Stalton’s desire to crown callow nephew Richard Twing as his heir—collapses when the board installs the diffident, ladder-averse Arthur Barnes, betrothed to the president’s ladder-phobic daughter Helen. One innocuous stride beneath a timber trestle ignites a Rube-Goldberg ricochet of misfortune: a burglary accusation, a city-wide chase, a coincidental collision with genuine bank bandits, and a final reversal courtesy of Sam, the janitor whose broom sweeps away lies as easily as dust. Superstition, nepotism, and slapstick swirl into a brisk 1920s soufflé where fate’s footstool is literally a ladder.
Synopsis
Peter Stalton, retiring as a bank cashier, is anxious that his nephew Richard Twing should succeed him. The directors, however, appoint Arthur Barnes, engaged to Helen Wilbur, the president's daughter. Being highly superstitious, Helen makes Arthur promise to cross back under a ladder under which he has walked earlier in the day. In doing so, he is accused of robbing a house and is pursued by the police. Passing the bank in which he works, he sees two robbers making a getaway just as the president and Helen arrive. Arthur pursues the bandits in their car, accompanied by Helen. They are arrested and accused of robbing Stalton's house and the bank, but Arthur is cleared by Sam, the Negro janitor, who exposes Richard Twing as the culprit. Arthur is freed and is happily reunited with his fiancée.
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