A happy and unbelievably lucky young Irish immigrant, John Lawless, lands a job as the butler of an unconventional millionaire, Biddle. His daughter, Cordelia Drexel Biddle, tires of the unusual antics of her father--especially since the nice young men around town all fear him. Wouldn't you fear a father-in-law that keeps alligators for pets and teaches boxing at his daily Bible classes? Cordelia decides to run off to boarding school and promptly finds the man of her dreams. Unfortunately, his family doesn't approve of Biddle's outrageous antics, either. A Disney musical punctuated by snappy songs and an energetic debut by Tommy Steele. This is reportedly one of the last live- action films Walt Disney personally oversaw.
The Philadelphia of 1916 is the home of Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, an eccentric millionaire and boxing enthusiast whose chief pastimes are raising alligators and teaching the members of his Bible class the art of self-defense, the virtues of physical fitness, and military preparedness. Newly arrived in the unorthodox household is a young Irish immigrant, John Lawless, who has hired on as the family butler. Biddle and his long-suffering but adoring wife, Cordelia, give in to straight-laced Aunt Mary Drexel's suggestion that they send their tomboyish daughter, Cordy, to a finishing school in New Jersey. Once Cordy has enrolled, she quickly falls in love with Angie Duke, the heir to a tobacco fortune, who is passionately interested in Detroit's burgeoning automobile industry. When the youngsters announce their engagement, Cordy goes to New York to be introduced to the "proper" people and taken to the right places by the socially prominent Mrs. Duke. Not to be outdone, the well-intentioned Mr. Biddle gives a large garden party in Philadelphia. But the overbearing interference of the two parents only succeeds in precipitating a series of arguments climaxed by Angie storming out of the house. Sent by Mr. Biddle to keep an eye on Angie, John Lawless trails him to an Irish pub and cleverly instigates a brawl which lands the young heir in jail. The following morning the Biddles and Mrs. Duke go to bail out Angie. Putting aside their personal grievances, Mr. Biddle and Mrs. Duke consent to the wedding and give their children their blessings. Hoisting Cordy on his shoulder, Angie declares that he and she will elope to Detroit--"the shining city where dreams are booming into gear." Biddle's time will now be devoted to training marines in hand to hand combat for World War I.
