Henry Palfrey, Ian Carmichael, is the head of a traditional family firm in London who travels to Yeovil to enroll in the College of Lifemanship, drawn by a promise that social advantage can be mastered through practiced technique. Upon arrival, he meets the principal, Mr S. Potter, a man who lives by the creed of always being one up on your opponents and who quickly narrows in on Palfrey’s motives. Potter suspects that Palfrey’s decision to sign up is sparked by a woman, and he asks Palfrey to tell his story from before the course began.
Palfrey confesses that he feels like a loser, a man unable to command his own firm, where his senior clerk, Gloatbridge, already governs the day-to-day business and earns more respect from the staff than his boss ever does. The tale pivots on a romance that reignites Palfrey’s sense of possibility: a chance encounter with the alluring April Smith that makes him believe in the world of flirtation, charm, and risk. Yet this hopeful spark is threatened when a casual acquaintance, Raymond Delauney, crashes into their dinner date, and later uses his own easy wit to sweep April off her feet.
Delauney’s influence doesn’t end there. Palfrey’s attempt to imitate Delauney’s glamour—after seeing his sports car—ends in humiliation when he is conned by two second-hand car dealers into buying a shabby 1924 vehicle. The sting is felt again at the club, where a “friendly” tennis match with Delauney shows how far Palfrey has to climb: he loses, leaving him utterly despondent about his life and prospects.
Potter tests Palfrey further, assigning a sequence of courses designed to impart a repertoire of ploys for gaining the upper hand in different life situations. Palfrey proves to be an apt pupil, mastering techniques that he believes could transform his position. The final exam is a field test of these skills, and Palfrey returns to London under watchful eyes, intent on proving his newfound savvy. He engineers a win of sorts by tricking the car dealers into returning the car and paying 100 guineas, insisting the vehicle is a vintage model, a move that imprints his emerging confidence on his colleagues.
Back at his family firm, Palfrey puts Gloatbridge in his place by presenting a ruse about a potential merger with a larger firm, a deception that makes the staff stand in greater awe of his apparent business acumen. The effect is immediate: Palfrey’s colleagues treat him with renewed respect, and he begins to test his social acumen in new, more intricate ways.
The climactic rematch with Delauney is where Palfrey’s training reaches its apex. He deploys a battery of cunning tactics to frustrate and outmaneuver his rival, and Delauney’s control begins to crumble. Yet the moment of victory is tempered by the reality of affection: Palfrey desires April, but his wooing efforts falter under the weight of his earlier deceptions. Before Palfrey can press his advantage, Delauney bursts into his apartment with Potter in tow, and Palfrey is forced to reveal the truth behind his actions.
Potter, watching with a mix of disappointment and concern, ultimately confronts Palfrey’s methods, and his response to Palfrey’s confession is frank and disillusioned. Rather than bless the deception, Potter breaks the “fourth wall” to address the audience directly, offering a rueful note on the limits of manipulation and the costs of trying to game real life. The lovers’ dynamic takes a soft turn, and April’s embrace signals a possibility for honesty and genuine feeling, rather than merely strategic conquest.
As the credits roll, the film closes on a note that’s as telling as Palfrey’s journey: Raymond Delauney heads toward Yeovil once more, this time to enroll in the College of Lifemanship, suggesting that the pursuit of social mastery is irresistible and contagious.
