In Society 1944

Eddie Harrington [Bud Abbott] and Albert Mansfield [Lou Costello] are a pair of enterprising plumbers who get a late call about a troublesome leak in the private bathroom of the wealthy Mr. Van Cleve [Thurston Hall]. Though Van Cleve plans to stay in bed and skip the upstairs ball, the constant dripping is loud enough to disrupt the whole house, setting off a series of comic misadventures. The two men head to the opulent mansion with a hopeful sense that a fix could lead to bigger plumbing jobs, though the day’s events will soon spiral far beyond a simple repair.

Upstairs, as they attempt to seal the leak, their efforts backfire in a surprising flood that soaks the room and stirs up more chaos than they anticipated. The situation is further complicated when Elsie Hammerdingle [Marion Hutton], a sharp-witted taxi driver and friend of Eddie and Albert, crosses paths with Peter Evans [Kirby Grant], a party guest dressed as a cabbie. Peter Mistakes Elsie for another guest and, in a flurry of mistaken identities, invites her to the Briarwood gala hosted by Mrs. Winthrop [Margaret Irving], where a priceless painting known as The Plunger—a renowned heavy gambler—will be unveiled. The invitation, dropped into the wrong hands due to the house’s earlier mix-ups, lands Eddie and Albert in a room full of potential wealth and new clients they never expected to meet.

As the mansion doors swing open to Briarwood’s grand event, the story takes a sharper turn. Drexel [Thomas Gomez], a menacing loan shark to whom the plumbers owe money, coaxes them into a dangerous proposition: steal the painting for him. Eddie and Albert refuse to become thieves, but trouble arrives anyway when Drexel and Marlow [Murray Leonard], a crooked chauffeur at the party, stage an attempt to steal The Plunger themselves. The painting goes missing, and suspicion falls on Elsie, Eddie, and Albert, who must clear their names amid the mounting tension of the gala.

The trio’s innocence is proven in a dramatic finale: Eddie, Albert, and Elsie—riding a fire truck—capture Drexel and Marlow and recover The Plunger, restoring order and exposing the real villains. The night’s chaos leaves its mark, however, as some of the guests cry foul that Eddie and Albert also stole their tuxedos, sparking a wild chase across a field. Through a blend of quick wits, blend of seam-stitching humor, and a dash of slapstick, the plumbers manage to emerge with their reputations intact and the painting safe, leaving everyone to reflect on luck, money, and the unpredictable turns of a single night at Briarwood.