John Cecil Holm

Erwin Trowbridge sometimes chafes at suburban life, and at his rather uninspiring job of writing greeting card slogans for a boss who pays small wages. One day Erwin, fed up with his wife and brother-in-law, instead of going to the office, makes his way to a saloon, determined to declare his independence of home and business. There he falls in with two men and a girl whose “profession” is betting on the horses. Now Erwin's hobby is “doping” out the races and he becomes fabulously rich—on paper. He picks the right horses, but never once places a bet. He tells his new friends what horses to bet on, and to their astonishment, they win. Erwin will prove a gold mine if properly managed, and the three professionals decide to hold onto him for dear life. Though Erwin has misgivings, he is persuaded to remain with his new-found friends at a hotel and regularly dope out the races. But he becomes increasingly concerned about his job (which does really suit him) and his wife (who does really love him). Matters with Erwin and his companions come to a climax when one of them suspects him of double-crossing, and he insists on Erwin's betting on a horse to prove that he is straight. Erwin declares he will lose his power if he bets, and this is indeed what happens. Erwin's boss, wife and brother-in-law become worried, until they learn he is really interested in what he considers his life-work, the writing of verses. Erwin turns down an offer by an outside gambler who wants to buy a “slice” of him; he knows he will never again be able to pick winning horses; the poet in him predominates, and he is happy to return home to his loving wife.

An absent-minded bachelor spends his life inventing things and going to school, but he never finds time to learn everything he wants to know. He is interested also in his young nephew and the nephew's wife, and he drops in on the couple on his way south. Having money, he wants to make the young people comfortable but is especially concerned in giving them an incentive to raise a family, and he is anxious to provide bonuses for children who will come later on. When he arrives he mistakenly identifies a charming bride, a neighbor of the young people, as his nephew's wife. For sufficient reasons, the truth is concealed. In order not to disappoint Uncle, all the young people involved must play out the comedy until almost the very end. What with this bride and that dashing in and out, and Uncle meantime happily involved in his schemes for helping his own young people, we are involved in a series of misadventures. But Uncle finally gets everything straightened out and generously gives presents not only to his nephew and his wife but to everyone else.

Most people have inherited property, but we never heard of anyone's inheriting a ghost. Nancy Willard did. This attractive girl, who works for a publisher, is engaged to Parker Burnett. When Amelia Bullock, Nancy's landlady and owner of a delightful old house, dies at the age of 103, Nancy learns that she has been left something named Nathaniel Coombes. Nathaniel is a young and handsome Revolutionary soldier who had been ambushed and killed in 1776 and is now doomed to an earth-bound existence as a ghost in the neighborhood of Nancy's apartment. He cannot get into heaven because he has failed to deliver a message to George Washington. It was all the fault of a pretty barmaid who caused him to forget his duty. Nancy, incidentally, is the only living being who can see Nathaniel. When Charley Stewart, an attractive young newspaperman, comes to Nancy's apartment seeking data on the late Miss Bullock, Nancy finds her life even more complicated, since there are now three young men (if we include Nathaniel) interested in her. It is Charley, of course, who learns how to exorcise the ghost and win Nancy away from Parker. But it is Nathaniel who ultimately enables Nancy to choose the right husband, and on his accomplishing this he gains admittance to heaven at long last.