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The second film version of Ben Ames Williams' magazine serial Jubilo, and the second to star Will Rogers, Too Busy to Work takes considerably more liberties with the source material than the original 1919 Jubilo. Once again, Rogers is cast as a lovable hobo named Jubilo (after the old spiritual of the same name), but this time there is a compelling reason for his vagabond existence. While Jubilo was off fighting in WW1, his wife ran off with another man, taking their baby daughter Rose with her. Upon his return to the States, Jubilo took to the road, hoping some day to find his daughter (the wayward wife having died just before War's end). Arriving in a small town, Jubilo learns that his now-grown daughter Rose (Marian Nixon) has been raised by a widely respected judge and his wife, and is blissfully unaware of her true identity. Assessing the situation, Jubilo decides to leave well enough alone, and not tell the girl that he's her real daddy. But before he can shamble out of Rose's life, Jubilo must first smooth the path of true love by clearing Rose's sweetheart Dan Hardy (Dick Powell) of a false criminal charge.