The film is about an unemployed banker, Henri Verdoux, and his sociopathic methods of attaining income. While being both loyal and competent in his work, Verdoux has been laid-off. To make money for his wife and child, he marries wealthy widows and then murders them. His crime spree eventually works against him when two particular widows break his normal routine.
Vaudevillian Joe Pitt sweeps young Sally Patter off of her feet and steals the lovestruck girl away from her small-town family to join his act. She winds up heartbroken, pregnant and broke when Joe runs off with the magician's sexy assistant. Sally bravely persists and her immense dancing and singing talent gain the notice of prominent producer, Wade Valentine. Under Valentine's tutelage, she rockets to Broadway stardom while Joe Pitt is reduced to waiting on tables. Alone, Sally proudly gives birth to a baby son. Wade proposes marriage to his beloved protege and it appears that Joe Pitt may never learn about the son he has fathered.
Comedy skit shown as part of a theatrical revue. 'The picture is supposed to be a Hollywood drama of English life, wildly burlesqued, and in the middle of projection Maisie Gay stands up in the stalls, protests, argues with the players on the screen, and then steps into the picture. Finally a chorus of duchesses steps from screen to stage and the revue becomes tri-dimensional.' (Kinematograph Weekly)
