1905 was a period of heavy immigration from Europe to America before laws were passed restricting the flow of immigrants. Almost every character in this movie is a recent arrival. Tisa has been in America only four months, yet she is holding four jobs to save enough money to pay for her father's boat passage to America. She works in a garment factory in Greenwich Village owned by Mr. Grumbach, who is studying to pass his citizenship test. Denek, a brash young man, tries to help her but gets her into trouble and her deportation is ordered by an immigration judge.

A New York radio personality travels to the small town of Fernville to oversee a contest to identify retired safecracker Jimmy Valentine, believed to be living there under an assumed name. The close-knit town of upstanding citizens is understandably upset by this venture, all the moreso when some of its citizens begin to be murdered. The radio personality and the local newspaper's young daughter collaborate on solving the murders while revealing Valentine, who has become one of the suspects.

A con artist falls for the rich widow he's trying to fleece.

A doctor testing drugs on convicts gets mixed up in a murder investigation.

Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".

An undercover Texas Ranger runs into trouble when he learns that the murderer he's trailing has a twin brother.

Chinese detective Charlie Chan solves a murder linked to the occult.

Skipper Murphy is serving as trainer and inspiration for his brother Red Murphy training for a world championship title bout. Trouble comes for the Murphys when Red runs up against a gambling syndicate and is put on the spot to throw the fight.

A wounded archaeologist crawls into the camp of three kindhearted cowboys. When the cowboys bring him to a nearby trading post, he's murdered after he lets slip a secret about a hidden cave. Investigating his death, Ken and his friends encounter a land dispute between a pair of neighboring ranches, an arrogant German baron and a mysterious shack that houses a great secret.

A none-too-popular (nor good) radio singer, Rita Wilson is murdered while singing on the air in a radio studio. Radio page boy, Frankie Ryan, and his janitor pal, Jeff, solve the mystery for the none-too-sharp police.