Finders Keepers

A few days after bank robbers Eddie and Joey bury their loot in an empty lot, two-year-old Tiger Kipps, Jr. and his dog George dig it up while playing. The little boy, who has not yet begun to talk, brings some of the cash home to his grandmother, Ma Kipps, who is too busy perfecting her gambling system to notice. When she finally notices the bundles of cash, however, she gleefully hides the money in skeins of yarn. Soon, Tiger, Jr.'s parents, Tiger and Sue, come home from work and hurriedly prepare dinner for Mr. Fitzpatrick, who used to be Tiger's parole officer and is now a family friend. Tiger, who learned everything from his mother, entered into petty crime at an early age, but after spending a few years in jail chose the straight life for Sue and Tiger, Jr.'s sake. As Sue makes dinner, Ma casually mentions that she is leaving soon to visit her sister Pearl, and since Pearl is dead, Sue becomes suspicious. Fitzpatrick arrives, and to Sue's horror, Ma regales him throughout dinner with tales of Tiger's delinquent youth. Sue is soothed, however, by Fitzpatrick's announcement that Tiger's boss is about to promote him. After dinner, Tiger, Jr. brings Ma's knitting bag into the living room and begins to play with the balls of yarn. When Fitzpatrick walks out the door, he fails to notice the baby unrolling a skein of yarn behind him. The money is revealed, but although Tiger is as exultant about the windfall as is Ma, Sue sobs. Tiger wants them to keep the money and move, but Sue finally convinces him that they cannot live on the run. He burns the money to prove his trustworthiness, causing Ma to cry. The next day, Ma follows Tiger, Jr. around town in the hopes that he will lead her to the money, but becomes exhausted by the chase. As soon as she falls asleep, Tiger, Jr. fills up his wagon with more cash and deposits it in his mother's drawer. When Sue finds it there that night, she assumes Tiger has lied to her about burning the original cache and, convinced he will never change, takes Ma's advice and moves into a hotel. Tiger chases her there and breaks down the door so he can reveal that he did not burn the money but instead put it in the vacuum cleaner to turn it in to Fitzpatrick, who is due at the house that moment to pick it up. Meanwhile, Eddie and Joey return to the lot for their money and, seeing Tiger, Jr. with the remainder in his wagon, take the baby and the money to their hideout. Their boss, Frank Simmons, sees Tiger, Jr's name on his shirt and immediately calls Ma, his old friend. Overjoyed at the prospect of joining Frank's gang, Ma packs all the money into a bag and rushes to the hideout, bumping into Fitzpatrick on her way out. When a reconciled Sue and Tiger return, Fitzpatrick informs them that Ma has left. As soon as they realize that she took the money and the baby is gone, Fitzpatrick calls the police. They trace Ma's cab, and bring Fitzpatrick and Tiger to the hideout. There, Ma has become disillusioned with Frank, who refuses to risk returning Tiger, Jr., to his parents. When the police pull up outside, Frank has his men tie Ma up in the bedroom and then uses Tiger, Jr. as a hostage. While Tiger, infuriated, sneaks around to the back of the house, the goons ignore Tiger, Jr., who wanders into the bedroom and shoots off Ma's pistol. Hearing the shots, Frank assumes the police have surrounded the hideout, and Eddie and Joey surrender in a panic. The police arrest them all just as Tiger reaches his mother and son. Back in their apartment that night, Ma pretends that she raced to the hideout to save Tiger, Jr., with the money as ransom. While she discusses her plans to take her share of the reward money to Las Vegas, Tiger, Jr. enters with a wagon full of precious jewels.