Buck Privates Come Home

Herbie Brown and Slicker Smith return to the United States after serving in Europe during World War II. They travel aboard a troop ship, sharing the moment with their old nemesis Sgt. Collins. The voyage marks the transition from wartime duty to peacetime mischief.

Collins and his officers search the men's belongings for contraband aboard the approaching New York. Herbie accidentally activates a time bomb disguised as a camera he picked up as a souvenir, forcing him to throw it out the porthole. The scare foreshadows the trouble waiting on land.

Evey is discovered inside Herbie's duffle bag, a six-year-old French orphan. Lt. Sylvia Hunter takes custody and has her transported to immigration officials in New York. The incident links the boys' fate to the child's future and the bureaucracy around her.

During a shift change at the immigration office, officials mistakenly release Evey, thinking she is a neighborhood child. She wanders into the world of Herbie and Slicker, drawing them into responsibility they hadn't anticipated. The mix-up complicates their plan to keep her.

Returning to their prewar hustle, Herbie and Slicker sell ties on the crowded streets of Times Square. Collins is reassigned to the same beat and closes in on arresting them again. Evey unexpectedly helps them escape, cementing her place in their lives.

They attempt to adopt Evey, but the adoption rules require one of them to be married and have a steady income. Evey suggests that Herbie should marry Sylvia to satisfy the requirement. The idea sets in motion a fragile plan built on shifting friendships.

They visit Sylvia's apartment and learn she already has a boyfriend, Bill Gregory. This discovery blocks the marriage path and adds tension to the attempt to formalize a family. The rowdy trio recalibrates their approach to securing Evey's future.

They buy what seems to be an ideal home for $750, but the seller refuses to show the interior before purchase. When the front door is opened, a truck hauls away the facade to reveal a broken-down old bus inside. Realizing they bought a wreck, they decide to fix it up as their new home.

Bill is a midget car racer whose prize money could change his life, but his race car is held in a local garage for past due bills. Herbie and Slicker pool their separation pay and loans to free the car. Their plan hinges on Bill's performance at the Gold Cup Stakes.

Collins plans to arrest the boys again by staking out the garage and hoping to return Evey to immigration. He hopes to regain favor with his captain by delivering troublemakers. The pursuit leads him toward the race track and a dramatic confrontation.

Herbie jumps into Bill's race car and, in a wild chase, threads through the streets of New York toward the track. The spectacle ends with Herbie's escape and the prospect of a lucrative future for Bill. The chase cements Evey's bond with their makeshift family.

Although Herbie is captured briefly, a big order from the head of an automobile company arrives: 20 cars and 200 engines for Bill's team. The windfall secures Bill's financial future and fuels his chance to marry Sylvia and adopt Evey. The episode transforms the boys' fortunes from petty peddlers to sought-after builders.

With their futures secured, Bill can marry Sylvia and Evey can be adopted. Herbie and Slicker are promised visits to Evey if they get jobs. The ending suggests a hopeful, if unconventional, family formed from friendship and perseverance.

Collins' captain suggests that Herbie and Slicker join the police force, with Collins as their instructor. They accept the offer, beginning a new chapter in civilian life. The trio becomes a small, unlikely police family in postwar New York.