Unwed mother Eve Blake is about to have her baby taken away by the court when a total stranger, Jim Wilson, a wealthy pearl merchant, saves the girl by marrying her. The ruse of a sham marriage works, and although Jim has fallen in love with Eve, he prepares to depart for his South Seas home. He is summoned by the police and ordered to take custody of his baby, which has been abandoned. The long term bachelor, now unexpectedly a father, sails off to his island home with an infant son, wondering how he will raise the child without a mother.
A college football star who left a career as a professional athlete for Hollywood, Johnny Mack Brown found work as a leading man opposite starlets such as Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford. His portrayal of Billy the Kid in the 1930 King Vidor western of the same name marked a change in direction for Brown, who would continue on for two decades as a successful cowboy star. Malay Nights co-stars beautiful Dorothy Burgess, who appeared in the 1929 Academy Award winner In Old Arizona, and features a strong supporting cast which includes Ralph Ince, Raymond Hatton and Carmelita Geraghty.