| Director | John Rich |
|---|---|
| Box office | $3.3 million |
motorcycle used in the film]] Singer Charlie Rogers is enjoying his life and delivering successful performances at a busy restaurant in California. But when a group of female students in the audience become very happy cheering the singer, their male companions turn jealous and angry. After the show, several angry students set up an attack on Charlie in the parking lot. After brawling, Charlie is fired from his job and arrested by police.
After a night in jail, Charlie hits the road on his Honda 305 Superhawk motorcycle. He spots Cathy Lean in a car driven by her father, Joe, with their employer, Maggie Morgan. When Charlie tries to become friendly with Cathy, Joe drives Charlie's bike off the road; Charlie falls and the bike is wrecked after crashing into a wooden fence.
Maggie offers him a place to stay and a job with her struggling traveling carnival while the bike is being repaired. Charlie becomes a "carnie", a roustabout. Maggie recognizes his musical talents and promotes him to feature attraction. His performances soon draw large crowds to the carnival. Charlie romances Cathy, which brings him repeatedly into conflict with Joe. A patron loses his wallet and accuses Joe of stealing. Charlie later finds the wallet, but now he is accused of holding back a customer's lost wallet that Joe was accused of stealing. Charlie is lured away by Harry Carver to star in his much more successful show.
Once again, he is a great success. However, when Charlie learns that Maggie is facing bankruptcy, he returns. Charlie brings back the crowds and saves her carnival from folding. Joe takes another swing at Charlie, and Charlie defends himself. Maggie witnesses the fight and asks Charlie to reveal the real reason he came back. Charlie admits he returned both to save the carnival and because he loves Cathy. In the musical finale, he and Cathy are happily reunited.