The More the Merrier

Retired millionaire Benjamin Dingle arrives in Washington, D.C., to advise on the housing shortage. His hotel suite is unavailable, so he spots a classified ad for a roommate and convinces Connie Milligan to let him sublet half of her apartment.

On the next morning, Connie leaves for work and Dingle meets Sgt. Joe Carter, who is eager for a room while awaiting shipment overseas. Seeing potential in Joe as a match for Connie, Dingle rents him half of his half.

Connie discovers the arrangement and angrily demands both men leave. She relents only because she has already spent the rent money to cover both tenants.

Despite the complications, Joe and Connie develop a mutual attraction. Connie is also engaged to Charles J. Pendergast, a pompous bureaucrat, which further complicates the romance.

Dingle meets Pendergast at a business luncheon and decides that Joe would be a better match for Connie. He begins to steer events to bring the couple together.

Dingle reads aloud from Connie's diary to Joe, exposing her thoughts. Connie catches them in the act and demands that they both leave, but Dingle takes the blame to protect their reputations.

Back in his hotel room, Dingle's plan continues to unfold. Joe offers Connie a traveling bag as an apology gift, and she allows him to stay until his departure for Africa in two days.

Joe asks Connie out to dinner, but a nosy neighbor delays them and Pendergast arrives downstairs. From his window, Joe spies on the couple and jokingly tells the neighbor he is a Japanese spy.

Dingle arranges a restaurant dinner where he unexpectedly runs into Connie and Pendergast, then invites Pendergast to his suite to discuss the housing shortage, letting Joe and Connie be alone together.

Joe walks Connie home and they share their romantic pasts, ending with a kiss on the front steps. Inside, Joe confesses that he loves her through his bedroom wall, and she admits she feels the same but fears their impending separation.

Two FBI agents arrive, tipped off that Joe might be a Japanese spy. Joe and Connie are taken to FBI headquarters; Pendergast accompanies Dingle. Dingle Lies to protect his reputation, denying knowing them.

With 26 hours until Joe leaves for Africa, Dingle advises that a marriage could avert a scandal and allow an annulment later. They fly to South Carolina to wed, where licenses can be obtained more quickly than in D.C.

Returning home, Connie allows Joe to spend his final night in her apartment. Dingle has already organized a group of downstairs tenants to remove the wall between their bedrooms, making the space ready for a married couple.

Outside, Dingle changes the apartment door nameplate to read 'Mr. and Mrs. Sgt. Carter,' signaling a new, unconventional domestic life. The gesture underscores his success as Cupid and guardian of their union.