He supports his father James (Frank Morgan), an out-of-work actor with a great admiration for Shakespeare, but also with an inability to remember lines from the Bard's work.

Meanwhile, Jim meets Nesta Pett's niece, Ann Chester (Madge Evans), in a nightclub and falls in love with her.

Jim then develops a comic strip based on the Petts, mainly Nesta, her husband Herbert (Grant Mitchell), and her son Ogden (Tommy Bupp); and it is a huge hit in England.

The strip is an instant success, making Jim financially secure: he uses his new wealth to hire a team of detectives to find Ann.

When he finds out that Freddie is not the liar Bayliss claimed he was, Jim decides to give up his hope of winning Ann's heart and to return to London.

David O. Selznick was initially set to produce the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical adaptation of Piccadilly Jim, and in late 1934, Robert Montgomery was assigned to be directed by J. Walter Ruben.

[2] Robert Benchley was hired to write the original screenplay, but Selznick replaced him with Rowland Lee in October 1934.