Close Shave

Rich but lonely Elwood Fenris III plays charades in his fancy living room when the mysterious Algernon Pepper talks him into pretending to be the king of made-up Dalziel. Colonel Salaba and casino woman Lolly help with the trick, but Elwood figures out the game and wins love for being foolish.

Algernon Pepper gets the ear of billionaire Elwood Fenris by offering him the crown of Dalzeel and marriage to Dalzeel’s beautiful princess, ineligible to the throne because of the Salic law. Aided by his confederate, Lolly Dankowitz, who pretends she’s the princess, and Dalzeel’s ambassador to the UN, who agrees to promote the hoax because of his many personal debts, Pepper convinces Fenris to sign a million-dollar contract. But his plans begin to falter when Fenris and Lolly fall in love.

The opulent yet lonely parlor of Elwood Fenris III becomes a setting for a game of charades when Algernon Pepper, with a shadowy charm, persuades him to impersonate the king of Dalziel, a fictitious land. Colonel Salaba and casino enchantress Lolly join the plot, but Elwood finally sees through the ruse and finds Love as a reward for his folly.