Schalanter, once a prosperous craftsman is hit by the industrialization in Europe of the outgoing 19th century and self-inflicted negligence, he and his family - Gattin Barbara and the children Martin and Josefa - falls into considerable economic distress. More and more, the old man grabs the bottle and thus aggravates the economic situation. Schalanter is marked and predestined for a serious downfall and collapse.
Young swain Toto Esposito tries to abduct his beloved to marry her, but he makes a mistake: he kidnaps an ugly woman named Carmela, who loves him--and chases him when he escapes.
Lilli Marlene, a French girl working as a bar maid in her uncle's café in Benghazi, Libya, turns out to be the girl that the popular German wartime song Lili Marleen had been written for before the war, so both the British and the Germans try to use her for propaganda purposes - especially as it turns out that she can sing as well.
Antonio is the humble servant of a rich family governed by the Marquis Gastone. He is a young man madly in love with Lulu, but she betrays him, and he desperately enlist in the foreign legion.
I'll Get By is an updated remake of the 1940 20th Century-Fox musical Tin Pan Alley. William Lundigan and Dennis Day play William Spencer and Freddie Lee respectively, successful song publishers who make hits out of such numbers as "I Got a Gal in Kalamazoo", "Deep in the Heart of Texas", "You Make Me Feel So Young", "There Will Never Be Another You", and other favorites (the rights to all of these songs were conveniently held by 20th Century-Fox).
Newlyweds Joe and Anne Palooka are delayed in their honeymoon plans by the helpful Humphrey Pennyworth and by considerably-less-helpful manager, Knobby Walsh.
