Occasional Wife

Peter's mother sees Greta kissing another man and confides in Mr. Brahms, who hires detective Will Yates. Peter's secretary Miss Wilson tips him off to the situation. Greta refuses to give up her date that night so they go to a movie where they plan to ditch Yates, who sits behind them. The next day he goes to Greta's apartment and tells Greta he knows the truth and wants money to buy his silence. Peter finds out Yates has a jealous wife and he and Greta try to get Yates in a compromising photo. This involves a last minute discovery that Peter's camera is out of film and a druggist who has a difficult time counting. The man-in-the-middle views the action while playing poker with a friend who cheats.

Peter and Greta are invited to the Brahms' country house in Connecticutt for the weekend along with backstabbing office rival Wally Frick and his wife Vera. Peter sees an opportunity to discuss an ad campaign with Mr. Brahms but Greta has a date with Bernie, which she reluctantly breaks. Wally and Vera do their conniving best to foil Peter, meanwhile Bernie has found out where Greta is and shows up at the Brahms'. Greta and Peter let him in a bedroom window and tell him Peter is her brother who has violent tendancies and that they are really at a rest home. Bernie leaves and the others hear an intruder. Figuring it's Bernie, Peter rushes out, makes it sound good and sends Bernie on his way. He succeeds in impressing Brahms but later faints when he finds out the police caught the real prowler, an escaped convicted murderer

Peter accepts a job with another company where his advancement won't be hindered by being a bachelor. He writes a scathing letter to Mr. Brahms exposing the entire setup with Greta. He then goes home and tells Greta their occasional marriage is over. Peter finds out the next day that the man who hired him has been let go, so he's not hired. Peter goes through the mail in Mr. Brahms' office but doesn't have time to get his letter back so he ends up hiring a shady character to break into the office with him and retrieve it. He then has to renegotiate the terms of Greta's employment before she'll agree to continue their ""marriage"".

Peter's mother wants them to re-enact their ""marriage"" in a church so Greta and Peter hire an actor to ""marry"" them. Peter's mother also brings along her own minister just in case, as well as inviting Mr. and Mrs. Brahms and others to the ceremony. The actor, Frank Mastin, gets stage fright and is late, leaving worries that the real minister might perform the wedding. Mastin's agent reminds him of the animated movie he did and after he starts the ceremony he forgets his lines but continues with the ones from the movie in which he married Mr. Bear and Miss Antelope. Peter's mother loves the service and hires the ""minister"" to perform a future wedding for Peter's cousin. The man-in-the-middle tries to hang a picture as the action ensues.

Mr. Brahms summons Greta to his office in order to surprise her with the news he is promoting Peter and giving him a raise and asks Greta to have Peter call him later that evening. Greta tries to do so but Peter is busy romancing Ginger Snap in his apartment and ignores her attempts. Peter finally gets the message after again renogiating his deal with Greta. The next day at Peter's new office Ginger shows up looking for an earring and gets the job as Peter's secretary. Then, in walks Greta and Ginger finds out he is married. Ginger and Greta become friends and Peter is literally left holding the grocery bags. On one fire escape trip Peter and Greta pause long enough to each take a sip from the man-in-the-middles coffee cup.

Peter and Greta both have dates planned when Mr. Brahms shows up unexpectedly with his niece Amanda, asking Peter if she can stay overnight. Peter postpones his date with Cookie and Greta delays hers. Amanda suddenly doubles over in pain. Peter calls the doctor and, after paying the fee, finds out there is nothing wrong. Amanda admits she wants to be actress. She has also figured out Peter and Greta are not married and tries to blackmail Peter into paying for acting lessons. Mr. and Mrs. Brahms arrive and Amanda tells them the entire story. Peter and Greta think they are doomed until Mr. Brahms says Amanda is a pathological liar. Cookie arrives while Peter and Greta are dining on steak and hits Peter with her handbag. The man-in-the-middle is seen dressed in a tuxedo preparing to go out.

Greta needs to supplement her income and takes a job at an employment agency. Her boss Gordon asks her to dinner. Meanwhile, Peter, Wally Frick and their wives have been asked by Mr. Brahms to help entertain an out-of-town buyer. Greta will not break her date so Peter tells Mr. Brahms she is sick and he says Peter should stay home. Instead Peter takes Marilyn to an expensive restaurant where they run into Greta and Gordon. Marilyn and Gordon hit it off and are lost in a world of their own. The Brahms' walk by Peter and Greta's table and are glad to see Greta has recovered. They join the Brahms, Fricks and guest buyer and through charming diplomacy Peter manages to stick Wally with the dinner check while garnering Mr. Brahms' thanks. The man-in-the-middle is seen trying a hair restoration treatment.

Greta is taking pills due to an illness she is recovering from and faints while on a date with Bernie. Bernie rushes her to the hospital and registers her as Greta Patterson. Meanwhile, Peter, Mr. Brahms and Wally are working at the office. Peter is called and Mr. Brahms decides he and Wally will accompany Peter to the hospital. In addition to the name and identity mix-ups for Peter and Greta, Peter must also keep Mr. Brahms and Wally away from Bernie. This leads to some interesting developments, one of which is Peter's story about loose elevator grunches.

Peter and Mr. Brahms are relaxing with a drink after work when Mr. Brahms sees Greta on the dance floor with another man. He decides Peter and Greta need marriage counseling. Figuring a real counselor would see through them Peter and Greta decide to lie and tell Mr. Brahms they've been to a counselor and everything is worked out. Then co-worker Fred arrives at the office bemoaning that his wife just kicked him out. Mr. Brahms wants Peter to set Fred and his wife up with ""his and Greta's"" marriage counselor. So Peter gets his Uncle Harry, a Bohemian artist who dislikes ""manufacturers"", to play their marriage counselor at a meeting with Fred, his wife and Mr. Brahms. The man-in-the-middle is seen opening a beer can.

Peter is asked by Mr. Brahms to help the wife of an important client get her daughter Nancy into acting. It becomes obvious that Nancy has no talent or ambition for acting and is only being pushed by her mother. Peter takes Nancy to visit an off-Broadway producer friend to discourage her. The producer, however, sees dollar signs and allows Nancy's mother to back his play. Peter helps Nancy realize she has no talent and she pretends to be a tempermental actress in front of her mother who finally realizes that Nancy has no desire to become an actress. The man-in-the-middle does exercises in his bathrobe.