Andrew Larabee, Danny Kaye, is a schoolteacher who works under his headmaster father, Matthew Noel Purcell, a traditional man who admires discipline even as his son’s unorthodox methods win the students’ affection. Though Andrew’s classroom approach is popular, his true passion lies in archaeology, a field he hopes will earn him the respect he craves from his father and set the stage for a future with his fiancée, Letitia Fairchild Patricia Cutts, who has waited five years and insists he win a promotion before they marry.
During the holidays, Andrew bikes to ancient ruins in Sussex, convinced a Pan statue left by a Roman legion lies buried there. A discovery would give him a publishable achievement and bring him closer to marrying Letitia, but at the site he encounters the Gallini family—a traveling circus forced to move as the land is claimed by dairy farmer Lord Elmwood. The Gallini clan, including five brothers and their cousin Selena Gallini Pier Angeli, mistake Andrew for a contractor, and he tells them he doesn’t mind if they stay—so they halt their plans to leave. Elmwood arrives and threatens to evict both Andrew and the circus, yet Andrew’s quiet reminder of shared Oxford ties coolly unsettles the landowner, who grudgingly grants them a week before construction begins.
As digging commences, Andrew discovers a tunnel and, in a surprising turn, tunnels through its ceiling and lands smack in the middle of the lion act during a performance. His unexpectedly deft handling of the animals earns Selena’s praise—she remarks that he is a born entertainer, and she even teaches him to juggle. When ringmaster Antonio Gallini [Salvatore Baccaloni] suffers from laryngitis, Andrew is coaxed into filling in at the matinee. Because he must pad into Antonio’s clothes, he ends up wearing a safety life jacket complete with a whistle, smoke, and emergency flares, turning his hurried, improvised speech into a comical barrage that marks him as a natural clown in the minds of the audience and the performers alike.
After the show, Selena’s jealousy flares at the sight of Andrew with Letitia, and she follows him into the tunnel. Andrew digs further and, by accident, triggers a cave‑in that traps them overnight. The next morning, Angelina the chimpanzee, tethered to a stake, shifts the rope to reach a banana, and in doing so moves the stake enough for the earth around it to collapse, revealing the two lovers. Antonio and his sons confront them and, to preserve family honor, insist the two wed on the following Saturday.
Angelina then finds the Pan statue Andrew sought and hides it inside Selena’s cage. Back home, Andrew convinces Selena that his commitments to his studies outrank any hastily arranged marriage, and he returns to a home where his father has promoted him and Letitia is prepared to accept him as her husband on the upcoming Saturday. Yet on the night before the ceremony, Selena delivers the statue to Andrew, a gesture that rekindles their bond.
Because Andrew’s class has performed well, the Headmaster promises them a treat. But when the boys decide to visit the Gallini Circus—now in the field—Andrew refuses to take them there, and they vanish on the wedding day. Andrew tracks them to the circus, where his father and brothers follow and discover a statue of Pan as the Gallini clan chases after the youngsters. Accompanied by Letitia and her father, Andrew’s family arrives at the circus, and the two families collide as Andrew is confronted by the Gallini brothers. In the end, Andrew clears the air and confesses that he loves Selena.
After the ceremony, Andrew and the unsettled Dudley walk out of the church arm in arm with Letitia as the newlyweds drive off on their honeymoon. Matthew gives his blessing, noting that Andrew is carrying on a long family tradition—one that even counts a jester named Thomas Larabee in the court of King James I. In a hopeful turn, Andrew then leaves with Selena and the gallant Gallini clan, stepping into a future that binds two families together in celebration and mutual respect.
