Enredo

A hard-drinking, socially-awkward inventor wrecks his daughter's chances of marriage into a rich family and bungles his own chances of success by selling one of his more practical inventions.

Sam Bisbee is an inventor whose works (e.g., a keyhole finder for drunks) have brought him only poverty. His daughter is in love with the son of the town snob. Events conspire to ruin his bullet-proof tire just as success seems near. Another of his inventions prohibits him from committing suicide, so Sam decides to go on living..—Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

Unsuccessful inventor Sam Bisbee has developed scores of impractical inventions over the years but is now on the brink of success with his new puncture-proof tire. His long-suffering wife has tolerated his late night drinking and sometimes boorish behavior which now threaten the engagement of their beautiful daughter and the scion of the town's most wealthy family. After the snobbish Mrs. Murchison visits the modest Bisbee home and meets Sam, she vows that the marriage will never take place. When Bisbee's prospective sale of his tire formula also goes awry, the despondent inventor takes a long train trip to avoid humiliation and contemplates committing suicide by swallowing iodine. After a last minute change of heart, he accidentally meets and endears himself to a touring princess. She uses her prestige to rehabilitate his damaged reputation, reunite the young lovers, and make him a millionaire by facilitating the sale of his tire formula.—Gabe Taverney (duke1029@aol.com)