Victor Lobard, Adolphe Menjou, runs the exclusive Café Metropole in Paris in 1937. One night, after closing time, he must gently eject a drunk American, Alexander Brown. The balance of the café is upended when Maxl Schinner, Christian Rub — who once lent Victor a massive sum of 900,000 francs and awaits repayment — returns with a demand that Victor finally collects what he’s owed. Victor asks for another 60,000 francs and promises to settle every debt by 6:00 the next evening. Maxl doesn’t hesitate and hands over the money.
Victor stakes the 60,000 francs at baccarat and wins a staggering 420,000 more. Alexander wagers the entire amount against him, but loses. For a moment it seems Victor finally has the funds he needs, yet Brown confesses that he is penniless. Seizing the opportunity, Victor devises a bold, disarming plan: he persuades Alexander to impersonate a Russian nobleman, Prince Alexis Paneiev, and to woo Laura Ridgeway, the heiress daughter of Victor’s old friend, so that Victor can gain access to her fortune.
Alexis arrives at the Metropole with a flourish and makes a stop at the flower shop for a boutonnière. Laura mistakes him for a staffer, and Alexis becomes enchanted without realizing who she is. When Laura sits with her father, she asks Victor to attract some celebrities or royalty to the table. Alexis enters again and is greeted by Victor as “your highness,” much to Laura’s embarrassment. Alexis dances with Laura, but is summoned by a waiter to answer a call. The twist: there is no call—the waiter is the genuine Alexis Paneiev. Victor manages to smooth over the faux prince’s offended honor and secures his silence for 50,000 francs.
Alexander falls genuinely in love with Laura, yet cannot bear lying to her about the ruse. He tries to discourage her growing affection without revealing the sordid truth and agrees to marry her. Victor escalates the stakes by having his lawyer, Monnet, present Alexander with a contract demanding money from Laura’s father, Charles Winninger Joseph Ridgeway: half a million francs before the wedding and the same amount after, plus various sums for any potential children. The proposal disgusts Alexander, and he tells Victor he’s done with the scheme.
Victor pretends to give up, returns Alexander’s passport and bad check, and then coolly informs Ridgeway that Alexis is a fraud. He further manipulates Ridgeway into believing he has “bought Alexis off,” prompting Ridgeway to write a check for a million francs to cover costs. Ridgeway relays the news to Laura, who reveals that she already suspected something was amiss. Still, when Ridgeway asserts that he bought Alexis off, Laura refuses to believe him and insists on discovering the truth herself.
The Sûreté is called, but instead of arresting Alexis, they jail the genuine prince. Laura goes to the jail to visit Alexis and discovers an older man who hints at Victor’s involvement. As Laura leaves, she finds Alexander being charged with fraud, and Joseph Ridgeway is arrested on a false charge of impersonating himself. Realizing they have all been played by Victor, they manage to free themselves from jail and return to Café Metropole. In the end, Alexander and Laura are set to marry, and they retrieve the misused check, freeing Alexander from the threat of jail. The ruse collapses, and the lovers’ future remains intact.
