I owe, you owe. Oft-married Rose is the archetypical stage mother, pushing her daughters June and Louise into vaudeville. After Rose's father refuses money to realize Rose's dream of glory for June, Rose steals his gold plaque to sell and embarks on a long tour with her two daughters and several boys they pick up for the act, as well as a manager, Herbie, who is in love with Rose. Pushy and domineering, Rose is nevertheless hard to refuse. Herbie, who would like nothing better than to settle down with Rose, puts up with her promises that she'll settle down eventually.
Years pass, but the act remains substantially the same.
Rose can't stand the thought of losing June, and so refuses to let her go solo when a producer offers to train her to be a star. Rose thus turns her attention to mousy Louise, who hates performing but bows to her mother's wishes. Rose assembles a troupe of girls to recreate the old act with Louise in the June role. Rose's disgust is overcome by Louise's hard-headed insistance that they badly need money, and they stay. When one of the strippers is arrested, Rose pushes Louise into the stripper's act, which causes Herbie to leave once and for all.