He meets aspiring actress and heiress Jane Van Buren and exchanges clothes with her drunk audition partner, Snoop Donlan.

Dean has ten days to join an expedition leaving for Egypt from New York and becomes a stowaway in the trailer of a pair of newlyweds bound for Niagara Falls.

After many adventures, Sheriff Sweat of Springville, Pennsylvania, finally apprehends Dean, but Jane picks him up in the museum car, which is discovered by the police.

Dr. Ellison, head of the expedition, gives Dean a fake missing fragment of the ninth and last tablet for a wedding present, which Jane has inscribed with the story of Neferus saving Anebi from her father, who has abducted her.

The couple is united and, years later, as an old man, Dean finally finds the real ninth tablet, which assures him he is not going to die tomorrow.

This time Lloyd participated only as an actor and partial investor; the film was actually made by Paramount's creative staff and technicians.

[6] Such negative feedback discouraged Lloyd from making any more movies, and he retired from the screen except for one final attempt in 1947 (The Sin of Harold Diddlebock, also known as Mad Wednesday).

Leonard Maltin described Professor Beware as "One of Lloyd's last vehicles has good moments, but tale of archeologist searching for rare tablet is thin.

"[citation needed] The Harold Lloyd estate owns all of the comedian's films except Professor Beware, which Paramount sold to MCA for television syndication.