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Synopsis
The widowed Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi is a
matchmaker by trade. In 1898, she travels to Yonkers to arrange the second
marriage of millionaire Horace Vandergelder (in truth, she intends to
marry him herself). Promised by Dolly that he will meet
an heiress that afternoon, Horace goes off to New York City for business
and to march in the 14th Street Association Parade. He
is followed by his two clerks, Cornelius Hackl and Barnaby Tucker, who want to
have a little fun. Dolly tries to get Horace's niece
Ermengarde to rebel too.
In New York is milliner Irene Molloy, who had initially been promised to Horace
(by Dolly). Her shop coincidentally shields Cornelius
and Barnaby from Horace when the two hooky-playing clerks duck in there to avoid
their boss--who also goes in to pay respects to Irene.
Though he doesn't find out who the men are, he knows "men" are in the shop and
breaks off all relations with Irene. Dolly smooths
things over with Irene and arranges for Cornelius and Barnaby to take Irene and
her assistant Minnie Fay to dinner, first teaching the
men how to dance so they can go to the Harmonia Gardens, a fancy
restaurant (though they first go to the 14th Street Parade that evening).
Speaking to her dead husband, Dolly reiterates her
desire to marry and joins the parade as it passes by.
As the relationships of Cornelius/Irene and Barnaby/Minnie develop, Dolly
returns to the Harmonia Gardens alone and is serenaded
by the waiters, who have not seen her since her husband's death. Then she goes
to work in earnest on Horace, playing hard to
get/disinterested with a vengance. Things get complicated when Horace discovers
not only his errant clerks in New York but Ermengarde
in the Harmonia Gardens show. He's arrested for causing a disturbance, and Dolly
tells him "farewell." Released but now clerkless and
nieceless, Horace realizes he'd better not let Dolly get away. She conveniently
returns, and he proposes to her.