The story of Eddie Cantor with plenty put in and taken out by 1950's Hollywood standards. Here Eddie grows up in a tough part of New York City, living with his grandmother. He catches a break when he wins a local amateur contest and gets a part with a group of young performers in a traveling show.

Raised by his grandmother on New York's East Side, 13-year-old Eddie sings while another neighborhood kid, Rocky Kramer, and his gang pick pockets. Eddie is sent by Grandma Esther to a boys' camp, where he entertains the others with his songs and routines. Ida Tobias, daughter of a local merchant, elopes with Eddie a few years later.