Plot
Anna Gibson (Belle Baker), her husband Tom Gibson (Ralph Graves), and their little boy Buddy (Dannie Mac Grant) form the small-time vaudeville act “The Three Gibsons.” Anna sings with warmth and dramatic flair, Tom provides comic dancing and patter, while Buddy, the bright child raised on the road, plays the comedy foil. Their number always ends with Anna’s heartfelt rendition of “Take Everything But You,” as Buddy steps into the stage box to sing the chorus with her. The house invariably roars with applause—family affection and showmanship seamlessly blended.
But Anna begins to worry. Buddy, raised entirely in dressing rooms and theaters, knows nothing of ordinary childhood. The act works, but his life doesn’t. The moment of truth arrives when Buddy misses a performance because he has been playing baseball with neighborhood boys. He is so absorbed in the game that he forgets the theater entirely. Anna realizes, with a pang, that her son has been robbed of childhood and normal growth.
Anna resolves to step away from the stage to give Buddy a home, stability, and proper schooling. Tom, a dyed-in-the-wool trouper, resists the plan. He sees Buddy as a born performer whose career should be fostered, not cut short. When blonde vaudevillian Maisie LeRoy (Eve Arden, credited as Eunice Quedens), who has designs on Tom, offers to replace Anna in the act, Tom reluctantly agrees.
Anna and Buddy move to a cottage in Freeport, New England. They settle into a quiet life, with Anna teaching Buddy and treasuring his chance to be an ordinary boy. Meanwhile, Tom tours with Maisie, enjoying her attention and the act’s success.
When Tom returns for Buddy’s birthday party, Anna senses distance. At last Tom admits the truth—he has fallen in love with Maisie. Heartbroken, Anna tells him they must separate. She will support Buddy, but for the boy’s sake they will keep up the pretense of family unity in his eyes.
Through her friend Joe Sweeney (Arthur Housman), an acrobat, Anna secures work singing at the Golden Pheasant Cabaret. Her voice and sincerity captivate the audience. Soon she is a headliner and receives an offer for the “big time.” With her new income, Anna is able to place Buddy in a military school.
When visiting, she conceals the truth from Buddy, speaking warmly of Tom and encouraging his letters to his father. Buddy memorizes Tom’s performance route and writes regularly. Proud of Anna’s rising fame, Buddy shows a Variety clipping of her Palace Theatre debut to his school friends. But one boy points out the next-page story—a gossip item announcing the rift between Anna and Tom. Shocked, Buddy decides to bring his parents back together.
Buddy runs away and finds Tom in a nearby town. He pleads with his father to leave Maisie and return to Anna. Tom, weary of Maisie’s clinging and realizing his mistake, doesn’t need much convincing. After a bitter farewell to Maisie, Tom agrees to go with Buddy to New York.
Father and son attend Anna’s Palace engagement. They sit in the audience, quietly watching her triumph. Anna pours her soul into her songs. Then, when she begins “Take Everything But You,” Buddy instinctively runs to the stage box and joins in, just as in the old days. The audience roars with delight, and Anna, overwhelmed, sees Tom smiling at her from the crowd.
The curtain falls on thunderous applause—The Three Gibsons are reunited, their family whole again, and their act booked solid across the “big time.”
