The Crime Nobody Saw

Horace Dryden (Benny Baker), "Babe" Lawton (Eugene Palette) and Nick Milburn (Lew Ayers)have been paid a large advance to write a play for John Atherton (Ferdinand Gottschalk), and after several months have not advanced past "Page One" at the top of a sheet of paper. Atherton wants his money back.

Then an intoxicated man wanders into their apartment, falls asleep on the sofa and $15,000 fall out his pocket. A search of his other pockets leads to the discovery of a black book that contains the names of many well-known men and a sum of money listed next to each name. They conclude he is a blackmailer and hatch an elaborate plot in which they will pose as policemen and police doctor, call on the men whose names are in the book and come up with the material needed to write a play.

They lock up the drunk and begin making their calls. Meanwhile, somebody deep-freezes the drunk with an icepick, and they are forced quickly from offense to defense.

Hattie McDaniel (as Ambrosia the Maid) solves this one.