with his composition. He is offered the opportunity to conduct the premiere of his work at Carnegie Hall. At the last minute, he is informed he must be properly attired. Elsa hurriedly buys the topcoat for him, but it is a very tight fit. When he conducts, it rips at both shoulders and the audience erupts with laughter. Charles is brought to tears. However, Bellini stands up in his concert box, pointedly removes his own tailcoat and asks him to continue; one by one, the "gentlemen" in the audience remove their own tailcoats. After the triumphant performance, Charles donates the topcoat to charity. Joe, who runs a mission for the poor, delivers a letter to alcoholic panhandler Larry Browne. It is an invitation to his 25th anniversary college reunion, held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Joe convinces Larry to attend, hoping it will help him rebuild his life. Larry manages to convince his former classmates that he is successful, even getting a job offer, but one of them, Williams, knows that Larry was a shady lawyer in Chicago who was disbarred. When one man cannot find his wallet, the group hold a mock trial, with Larry as the defendant and Williams as the prosecutor. In the end, Larry ultimately tells everything and leaves. The next morning, however, three of his classmates come to the mission to let him know the job is still his. The topcoat ends up in a second-hand shop, has an adventure with a tale featuring W. C. Fields, Phil Silvers and Margaret Dumont [see below]; where it is stolen by a thief. He wears it to get into an upscale illegal gambling parlor to rob the patrons. In his escape by plane, the jacket catches on fire and the panicked thief throws it out, with $43,000 of loot in the pockets. It lands by Luke and Esther, a poor Black couple. They take it to their minister, and they decide to give it to their congregation to buy whatever they have prayed for. An old farmer tells Luke that the only thing he prayed for is a scarecrow, so Luke gives him the now ragged jacket to make one. Cast Charles Boyer as [Paul] Orman Rita Hayworth as Ethel [Halloway] Ginger Rogers as Diane Henry Fonda as George Charles Laughton as Charles Smith Edward G. Robinson as [Avery "Larry" L.] Browne Paul Robeson as Luke Ethel