Bad News Johnson, a con artist from Memphis, Tennessee, arrives in Dallas, Texas, accompanied by his dim sidekick July Jones with only twenty-five cents between them. The duo arrange to become boarders at the home of Louella "Mama Lou" Holiday, who is fooled into believing Johnson is an acting teacher from Hollywood. Mrs. Holiday agrees to give the men free room and board if they will provide poise lessons to her daughter, an aspiring beauty queen named Honey Dew.
as Bad News Johnson / Vanderbilt Whitney
as 'Cornbread' Green
as Louella 'Mama Lou' Holiday
as Samuel 'Papa Sam' Holiday
as Barbara 'Honey Dew' Holiday
as Florida Holiday
as Jefferson Lee
as 'High Life' Harris
as 'Juke Joint' Johnny
as Melody Holiday
as Bandleader
