The Sap from Syracuse (1930)

Littleton Looney, a crane driver and general handyman in Syracuse, is a constant target for local practical jokers. When an unexpected inheritance gives him the chance to travel to Europe, jokesters send word to the ship captain that he is a famous mining engineer, traveling incognito; as a result, he is courted and pursued all over the ship. He meets Ellen Saunders, a mine owner, and two men who are plotting to rob her of her property, and when she seeks his aid, his identity is vouched for by the prominent Senator Powell. Meanwhile, Looney is pursued by two gold diggers, though he is trying to court Ellen. In Europe, a conference of engineers is called to plan a means of transporting machinery to the mine; Looney, learning of a low river bed, suggests damming the stream and using it as a road, an idea hailed by the experts. The plotters are unmasked by Powell, actually the engineer, and Looney wins the girl.