Julius, a former pants presser, and Joe McGoo, a former sailor, are servants of Baron Munchausen, a famous German explorer now traveling in the jungles of Africa. After Julius accidentally spills their already limited water supply while climbing a tree, Munchausen deserts camp during the night, taking the last drops of water with him. The next morning, after they read Munchausen's nasty farewell letter, the parched Julius and Joe are discovered by a safari of white explorers, who have been searching for the baron for many months. To assure their rescue, Julius pretends to be the baron, while Joe poses as Munchausen's manager. After the duo is treated to a hero's welcome in New York City, Julius is hired to speak on the radio at the rate of $2,000 for 2,000 words. While Joe attempts to count Julius' every word, Julius delivers a nonsensical speech about his adventures in Africa and the Arctic. The duo then heads for Cuddle College, a women's school at which Julius has been invited to lecture. Arriving on an elephant, Julius and Joe greet a crowd of adoring college students and are happily escorted to their rooms. There, Julius meets ZaSu, a sweet, fluttery maid, and instantly is taken with her. Back in Africa, the real Baron Munchausen sees a newspaper headline announcing "his" return to civilization and immediately sets off for America. Oblivious to the baron's discovery, Julius romances ZaSu in the college's meat locker, then confers with Joe on how to avoid giving any lectures. While the duo plots their excuses, a group of students cajole Julius to demonstrate his equestrian skills in the school's stables. After Julius is thrown by Rosebud, a fiery-tempered mule, he is called into Dean Primrose's office. There, Julius and Joe are exposed as frauds by an indignant Munchausen. When Julius threatens Munchausen with his incriminating "dead men tell no tales" letter, the baron backs down from his accusations and claims amnesia. By coincidence, however, Julius' aunt Sophie, a cleaning woman just hired by the college, sees Julius and identifies him as her nephew, the pants presser. Angry and ashamed by the revelation, ZaSu denounces Julius as a liar and, in spite of his explanations and pleas, breaks off with him. Julius and Joe then are thrown off campus in disgrace and are chased onto a train by two large men. After one of the men traps Julius, he reveals that he is not a detective, but a representative of the General Broadcasting Company. Relieved, Julius happily accepts the radio company's offer of $2,500 a broadcast, even though it means he will have to continue posing as the baron. Julius then discovers a forgiving ZaSu on the train and, vowing reformation, says that the chances that he will tell another lie are about as good as their future children becoming acrobats. Sometime later, ZaSu gives birth to acrobatic twins.