Scandal

At a rehearsal of the Attucks Theater Company, Eva Clarke has left to get married, leaving the show without a star on the night before it is scheduled to open. Mr. Jenkins, the show's manager, decides to change the billing to amateur night and hold a contest, offering the winner a job with the company. They choose a young woman named Connie Jackson and begin rehearsals immediately. Putney, the piano player, teaches Connie how to sing the blues and, during lay-over on the tour, Connie tells Putney how much she likes performing. Later, Putney gets drunk with his buddies and makes a pass at a chorus girl named Frankie Parsons. The boss, Jim Evans, finds out that Putney was drunk again during a performance and fires him. When Connie hears of this, she is heart-broken and quits the show. Putney is replaced in the show by Lucky Millinder, while Connie is replaced by Clara Thompson. Lucky, who is comfortable with the show's routine, helps the novice Clara get settled by arranging for her lodging at Mrs. Havlin's boarding house, where he is also staying. On the eve of her first performance, Clara overhears Frankie, who is jealous at being passed over for the lead part in the show, complaining to the other chorus girls. After an exceptional first show, Lucky takes Clara out for dinner to celebrate. When Jim Evans, the richest man in black show business, comes to town, he asks to meet with Clara. When she hesitates, Clara's costume lady tells her that Evans can make her famous, so she goes to meet him. Later, before that evening's performance, Lucky asks Clara to marry him and she says she will as soon as he has made a name for himself in music. Knowing that Evans is in the audience and will be impressed by Lucky's playing, she asks him to give the best performance he can. After the show, Evans asks Lucky to work for him in the Lazy Levee night club in Harlem. As he is leaving to return to New York that evening, Evans asks Connie to see him off at the station. Frankie, who has also been asked to work for Evans, tells Lucky that they will be able to have fun together in New York. When he protests that he is devoted to Clara, Frankie tells him that Clara has been seeing Evans behind his back. Lucky becomes jealous and allows Frankie to talk him into leaving with out saying good-bye to Clara. Later, Clara is nursing a broken heart when Evans visits and tells her that Lucky is a great hit in New York, but that he has spent all his money on Frankie, who has since left him. Then he tells her that he is risking his job by drinking during performances. Eventually, Lucky is fired and Evans asks Clara to come to New York to help Lucky get back on track. She rescues him and they star in a show together in Harlem.