船长老比尔已多年未见自己的儿子了，可当儿子终于大学毕业出现在老比尔面前时，他矮小的身材却不禁让万分期待的老比尔颇感失望。与此同时，小比尔的女友也回乡拜访父亲，没想到却是老比尔的死对头金船长。两人的感情面临危机。一天，一场飓风突如其来，更让港口险象环生。
本片与《将军号》一起被认为是巴斯特·基顿的杰作。

Ronald s high school valedictory address praises books and condemns sports. His girlfriend Mary condemns his attitude. He fears losing her to rival Jeff, decides to go to college and pay more attention to sports.
冷面笑星-巴斯特基顿：出生于杂耍演员家庭，从小受到杂耍和滑稽表演的影响。稍长，随家在美国各地作杂技和滑稽演出。20世纪初，脱离家庭戏班子，在一些滑稽短片中充当配角，逐步走上拍喜剧片的道路。他是一位具有创造力的表演艺术家，在喜剧的黄金时代。他的声望同卓别林相媲美，因为惟有他同卓别林一样成功的创造了同内心感情状态相适应的视觉形象。基顿自有其独特的魅力。他扮演的角色，脸部毫无表情，即使在“卿卿我我”之时，也是肃穆凛然的。

This marriage is the second for both Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius McNitt. He is panty-whipped by his social climbing second wife. She has recruited Clifford Figfield to stage and direct a charity pageant, which is more a means for her to hobnob with the social elite, and to nab Larry Lodge, the pageant's leading man, as a husband for her flighty daughter Phyllis, the pageant's leading lady. Larry ends up only having eyes for Sally McNitt, Mr. McNitt's visiting daughter, and she, in turn has eyes for him.