Student Tour

The Synopsis

Bartlett College’s rowing team wins its latest race. The team and its supporters are due to travel around the world for a big race in England  against Lethbridge, and coach Jeff Kane warns them that, if they do not win the race, it will be the end of rowing at Bartlett. 

All the crew have to pass their exams if they want to be on the boat. Ethelred Lippincott is marking the philosophy papers, and his niece Ann tells the other girls that the whole team is going to fail. 

Led by college vamp Lilith Lorraine, the girls tie up Ethelred in a cupboard and steal the philosophy results, which they throw onto a bonfire. 

Rowing captain Bobby Kane, Jeff’s younger brother, asks Ann if the results are ready, but Ann is worried because she cannot find her uncle. Bobby and the boys search for Ethelred, and Lilith tells Bobby the truth in exchange for a kiss. Ethelred is rescued from the cupboard and reveals that the whole class failed the exam. 

To avoid cancelling the tour, Ann suggests Ethelred come along and tutor the team on the ship, with another exam before the big race. The tour begins, and Ethelred finds himself sharing a cabin with Hank Merman, the team’s trainer. 

A dance is held on deck [A New Moon Is Over My Shoulder]. Ann, who is in love with Bobby, wishes on the new moon that he might become hers.

The boys do not engage with Ethelred’s philosophy classes and are lured away by the girls, but Bobby asks Ann for extra tutoring. She overhears him tell Lilith that he feels sorry for her. 

Ethelred and Hank feel sympathy for two hooded prisoners who are being shipped back to China. Training is not going well, and Ethelred tells Jeff that the team are not applying themselves to their classes. 

A masquerade ball is held and Ann attends as Pierette. Bobby, dressed as Pierrot, is immediately attracted to her, but does not know it is Ann. They dance [From Now On] and flirt, to the annoyance of Lilith. Ann and Bobby go onto the deck [A New Moon Is Over My Shoulder], and kiss. Bobby boasts about how many girls he has kissed, so Ann slaps him and walks away. 

Ethelred and Hank take food to the two prisoners, but are knocked out and left in the prisoners’ place. 

The ship arrives at Shanghai. Bobby confides to Ann how he feels about Pierette and promises to find her. The two prisoners are discovered to be Ethelred and Hank. 

Ethelred renews acquaintance with an old college friend, Huan Lu, who invites the whole party to dine with him. Huan Lu takes Ethelred to meet a Confucian scholar.  [I Say It With Music]. The scholar makes Ethelred a gift of his daughter, Sum Toy. Ethelred makes multiple attempts to give Sum Toy the slip, but she always turns up. Lilith persuades Bobby that she was Pierette. 

In India, they visit the Taj Mahal [By the Taj Mahal]. Ann finds a statue and reads that love comes to those who dance before it. She dances and is arrested, but Hank manages to exchange her for Sum Toy.

Ann and Bobby persuade Jeff to try using music to improve the crew’s training [The Snake Dance]. Bobby and Jeff quarrel and Bobby walks off the team. 

At Monte Carlo, the cox has a big win at the casino and Sum Toy turns up again. 

A party is arranged, at which Nelson Eddy will sing. Ann dresses as Pierette, and sings and dances as part of the show [The Carlo]. When she removes her mask, Bobby sees that Ann is Pierette. Ann rejects Bobby, calling him conceited. Bobby and Jeff quarrel over Ann, and Bobby declares that he will train hard, pass his exam and win the race; this was just what Ann and Jeff had planned. 

There is a balance outstanding on the cost of the party. Ethelred and Hank offer to pay it, leaving Sum Toy as security while they go to fetch the money. 

Back on the ship, Bobby and the crew are working hard, including at philosophy. 

In England, the cox has to drop out because he has lost his voice, so Ann steps in to cox the team in the big race. Ann struggles at first, but then keeps the crew in time by singing their school song. Bartlett wins and Ann is thrown into the water, as tradition demands. Bobby jumps in after her and they kiss.