[1] The plot concerns a vaudeville singer who comes to a floundering college to instill values and self-confidence in its entitled students.

Tiring of the road, she goes incognito to visit her son, Peter Kendricks (played by her real-life son Peter Lind Hayes) with her personal assistant Mary Healy (played by her real-life daughter-in-law of the same name).

She finds her son and the college "going to Hell in a hand basket", despite the earnest efforts of the kindhearted Dean, Prof. Warren (played by Richard "Skeets" Gallagher).

Grace buys the local diner, turns it into a version of her real-life club, and encourages the kids to put on a show to raise the funds and spirit the college needs to survive.

Katzman hired a musical troupe to perform numbers live to promote the film.