A young actress has retired from films to marry the son of a prominent and rich politician in New York City. The father objects strongly to the marriage. The actress is being blackmailed by a second-rate artist who has stolen some letters from her that could be misconstrued. During the payoff, she is knocked unconscious, and awakens to find herself involved in a murder and the police have her marked as the number-one suspect.

Theodore Hickman, a hardware salesman, makes by-yearly visits to Harry Hope's 1910-era waterfront bar for his periodical drinking binges. But on this visit he has decided to try to save the bar's patrons from their "lying pipe dreams."

1976 film by J. Lee Thompson

该剧由Damon Runyon的两则短篇故事改编，首演后大受欢迎，1200场的佳绩在当时是很罕见的。曾获托尼奖最佳音乐剧、最佳男主角、最佳编舞等五项大奖。此后几乎每十年，该剧就会在百老汇和伦敦复排一次，每一次都能吸引大量观众。该剧1955年改编为电影，由马龙·白兰度 Marlon Brando主演。名曲包括“Luck Be a Lady”、“If I Were a Bell”等。