If I Had My Way (1940) Plot Summary Explained

Jarvis Johnson refuses to acknowledge the telegram because he and his wife are snobby socialites who want nothing to do with the responsibility of raising Pat after her father's death. He pretends to be someone else entirely and directs Buzz to the other J.B. Johnson across town, hoping to avoid any obligation to his late brother's child.

• jarvis johnson
• pat johnson
• guardianship
• family responsibility

Buzz discovers that Axel has already spent all the money saved for Pat on a failed Swedish restaurant. To recover funds for Pat's future, Buzz invents a story about valuable stock certificates left by Pat's father. When Jarvis greedily offers to pay $5,000 for these supposed certificates, Buzz uses the money to transform the failing restaurant into a vaudeville nightclub that can actually generate income for Pat.

• buzz blackwell
• stock certificates
• money
• swedish restaurant
• vaudeville nightclub

Axel, who is often drunk, uses the funds that Buzz and the other construction workers saved for Pat's future to purchase a Swedish restaurant in New York. The restaurant quickly fails, leaving Buzz with the difficult task of finding another way to secure Pat's inheritance.

• axel swenson
• money
• restaurant
• failure

After Jarvis pays $5,000 for the fake stock certificates, Buzz uses that money to transform the failed Swedish restaurant into a vaudeville-themed nightclub. The vaudeville theme is significant because it connects to Pat's late father Fred, who was a vaudevillian, and the new business eventually thrives with help from Pat's friends.

Foreshadowing: The nightclub echoes Pat's late father's vaudevillian background, creating a meaningful connection to her past.

• vaudeville nightclub
• transformation
• business
• pat johnson father

Pat ends up living with Joe Johnson, who is Jarvis's uncle, and his wife Marian. They are poor ex-vaudevillians who welcome Pat with warmth and open arms, agreeing to become her guardians. They provide the loving family home that Buzz had been searching for.

• pat johnson
• joe johnson
• marian
• guardianship
• new york

Pat has a banker friend who steps in to help resolve the conflict when Jarvis returns demanding his $5,000 back. The banker negotiates a settlement between Jarvis and the group running the nightclub, helping to ease the tensions and resolve the financial quarrel that has divided the Johnson family.

• banker
• settlement
• jarvis
• dispute resolution

The Johnson family feud begins to heal through a combination of factors: the successful nightclub provides a legitimate business that can support Pat, the banker's intervention resolves the financial dispute with Jarvis, and the presence of Pat herself brings the estranged family branches together. With the money conflict settled, the family can reconnect around their shared connection to Pat.

• family feud
• reconciliation
• johnson family
• pat

Buzz makes a vow to his dying friend Fred to find Pat's relatives and ensure she has a family to belong to. After discovering the money for Pat was wasted on a failed restaurant, Buzz cleverly uses Jarvis's greed against him by creating the stock certificate ruse. The resulting nightclub provides Pat with both a stable home through Joe and Marian and a growing business that will support her future.

• buzz blackwell
• pat future
• guardianship
• vaudeville nightclub

Jarvis eagerly pays $5,000 because he believes he is acquiring valuable stock certificates left by Pat's deceased father. As a snobby socialite, Jarvis sees this as a profitable investment opportunity rather than an act of charity. His greed blinds him to the fact that Buzz is tricking him, and he only discovers the truth when he returns later demanding his money back.

• jarvis
• stock certificates
• greed
• money
• investment

The vaudeville theme is significant because it connects directly to Pat's late father Fred Johnson, who was a vaudevillian. By creating a vaudeville-themed nightclub, Buzz gives Pat a tangible link to her father's profession and legacy. The theme also fits the setting, as Joe and Marian are ex-vaudevillians themselves, making the nightclub a natural fit for the new family Pat has found.

• vaudeville
• pat father
• legacy
• theme night