Harry and Walter Go to New York

Harry Dighby and Walter Hill are caught robbing audience members during a vaudeville act and end up in jail. They become roommates with the cultured bank robber Adam Worth, who moves through confinement with wealth and charm. Worth uses his influence to secure a large cell, furnishings, servants, and other perks while plotting his next crime.

From his prison cell, Worth engineers a plan to rob the Lowell Bank and Trust as both revenge and a test of ego against a supposedly impregnable bank. He procures detailed diagrams of the bank's security systems and bribes the warden to aid his scheme.

A reforming newspaperwoman, Lissa Chestnut, visits Dighby and Hill in jail. They photograph the bank plans with her camera, then accidentally burn the originals in a burst of anger. Worth erupts with fury and orders the warden to assign the trio to the nitroglycerin work detail.

The next day, Dighby and Hill break out of prison by blasting a hole in the outer wall with a vial of nitroglycerin. Worth is paroled at the same time, and the escape momentum sends them toward New York City.

The freed Worth meets Dighby and Hill in New York City and forces them to hand over a copy of the photographed bank plans. He uses his charisma to extract the documents, ensuring he has the upper hand in the looming robbery.

Dighby, Hill, and Chestnut band together with Chestnut's team of do-gooders to race Worth and his professional crew to the Lowell Bank and Trust. The alliance pools resources and broadens the field of opposition, turning the caper into a public contest.

The rival groups overhear Worth describing his plan to blow open the safe and decide to gather similar equipment. They obtain the same tools, including a pump, even though its exact purpose isn’t yet clear. The stage is set for a parallel, high-stakes burglary.

The Lowell Bank and Trust sits beside a popular theatre, and the teams break in before Worth's crew arrives during a bustling performance. Their first attempt to blow the safe with dynamite proves ineffective and doesn't budge the door.

Realizing the door must be treated, the team liquefies the dynamite, seals the edge with putty, and uses the pump to create suction at the base of the door. This careful method slowly undermines the lock, but the operation takes time and nerve under close watch.

With the bank sequence underway, Harry dons a theatre costume and rushes onto the stage, calling for Walter as his on-stage partner. The audience and cast are baffled, but the duo’s ad-libs and routines buy crucial minutes for the robbers to finish the break. The show’s finale becomes a live cover for the getaway.

The followers complete the operation and blow the door, making off with the cash while Worth’s crew arrives too late to stop them. The on-stage distraction continues to attract attention, allowing the robbers to vanish with the prize. Police converge on the scene as Worth and his team encounter the immediate danger of capture.

Worth is accused of robbing the bank, but cleverly points out that they were still entering, not leaving, at the moment the police arrive. The officers release him, preserving his suave reputation and making the heist merely a near-miss. The legal loophole preserves Worth’s aura of invincibility.

A few days later, Harry and Walter visit Worth’s frequented restaurant and see patrons tapping their glasses in a sign of respect. Worth’s interaction with Lissa Chestnut reveals her belief that the bank’s money funds the city’s poor, deepening his character’s complexity. The mood softens around the trio as a potential romance whispers in the air.

Lissa hints that, despite their charm, Harry and Walter know they won’t win her heart. The moment underscored that their strength lies in performance rather than romance. They decide to embrace their showmanship rather than pursue love.

Harry and Walter decide to perform their vaudeville act right there in the restaurant, handing their music to the pianist. They launch into their routine, drawing cheers from the appreciative crowd and earning a standing ovation. The film ends on a high note for the duo, celebrating perseverance and showmanship.