Bobbikins

Upon returning home to London after serving an eighteen-month stint in the Royal Navy, Benjamin Barnaby is greeted by his wife Betty and fourteen-month-old son Bobbikins. Ben, a former song and dance man, has been promised a job by his old friend Jock Fleming, the owner of a musical theater called The Garden of Eden, and insists that Betty quit her job as a model. When Ben goes to the theater, however, he meets Luke Simmons, the entertainer he is to replace. Upon learning that Luke is the sole support of three motherless children, Ben turns down the job so that Luke can continue working. Betty, meanwhile, has resigned from her post, and when Ben informs her that he is unemployed, she scurries back to the store in hopes of being rehired. After she leaves, Bobbikins, who previously exhibited a baby vocabulary of gurgles and giggles, strikes up a conversation with the astounded Ben. When Ben boasts to Lydia Parker, the family's housekeeper, about Bobbikin's feat, Lydia thinks he has gone crazy and runs out of the house to report to Betty. After she flees, Bobbikins cautions Ben that no one else may know of his conversational precociousness. When Lydia informs Betty of Ben's delusions, Betty insists that her husband see Dr. Phillips, a psychiatrist who prescribes sedatives for him. Having lost her position as a model, Betty, a former performer herself, goes to the Garden of Eden to ask Jock for a job while Ben takes Bobbikins for a stroll in the park. After Ben dozes off in a drug-induced stupor, Bobbikins beguiles Sir Jason Crandall, the elderly Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is seated on an adjacent park bench. When Sir Jason and his aide discuss a contract that is to be awarded to the unknown Mid Atlantic Corporation, Bobbikins overhears their conversation and passes the information along to his father. After cashing in his life insurance policy, Ben visits the office of stock broker Gregory Mason to invest in Mid Atlantic stock. Mason, who snickered at Ben's purchase of the seemingly worthless stock, is stunned when Mid Atlantic is awarded an important government contract. Meeting Ben and Bobbikins in the park once again, Sir Jason invites them to lunch, and after Ben leaves the room, Sir Jason confers with one of his aides to discuss an oil strike by an obscure company. After Bobbikins gives Ben the tip, Ben hurries to Mason's office to purchase stock in the company. Betty, meanwhile, notices a change in her husband's demeanor and worries that he is keeping secrets from her. After the oil stock zooms, Ben bursts into Betty's dressing room, crowing that he has made a fortune. Thinking that her husband has gone mad, Betty consults Dr. Phillips, who confirms that Ben must be suffering from delusions of grandeur. Astounded by Ben's luck, Mason's shapely girl friend Valerie tries to entice him into divulging the source of his information. Valerie is incredulous, however, when Ben reveals that Bobbikins gave him the tips. Mason, meanwhile, passes along information about Ben's purchases to his friends, causing the stock market to go haywire. After Mason makes Ben his partner, Ben surprises Betty by showing her his lavish new office. Upset that Ben has become friendly with the voluptuous Val, Betty warns Ben that Mason and Valerie are using him. When Betty asks where Ben got his stock tips, he tells her about Bobbikins. Now certain that her husband is lying, Betty walks out on him. After Sir Jason launches an investigation into the stock leaks, Bobbikins warns Ben to quit his investing, and when he refuses to pass along any more tips, Ben smugly brags that he can be a success on his own. Soon after, Scotland Yard comes to interrogate Ben and haul him off to jail. Betty and Jock hurry to bail Ben out, but arrive just as Ben is driving away with Mason and Valerie. Meanwhile, Lydia invites Luke to lunch, and as they discuss Ben's problems, Bobbikins conceives of ruining his father in the market, thus forcing him back to earth. Soon after, Bobbikins gives Ben a bogus stock tip and asks him not to tell anyone except Mason and Valerie. When Mason goes bankrupt after investing his entire assets in the company, he throws Ben out. Crestfallen, Ben re-enlists in the Navy and despondently leaves home. Lonely, Betty takes Bobbikins for a walk in the park, where she encounters Sir Jason, who is delighted to see them. Upon learning that Ben has re-enlisted out of shame, Sir Jason, feeling responsible for his plight, summons Dr. Phillips to convince the admiral to discharge Ben. Ben's final assignment is to produce the Navy Christmas show, and as he sings his swan song, Betty steps onstage and joins him in a duet. After Ben's discharge, they reconcile and return to the stage together, with Bobbikins at their side.