Georges Vinot nicknamed Bouboule, a colorful but naive Parisian, falls prey to a gang of diamond thieves. Not only do they manipulate him into smuggling stolen precious stones into Senegal but they have bought life insurance on his head, which means they are prepared to do anything to liquidate him. But Bouboule succeeds in thwarting all their traps and eventually decides to settle down in a Senegalese village, of which he becomes... king!
The film is the first of a series of films containing the character of "Bouboule", created by the singer Milton and comprising La Bande à Bouboule (1931), directed by Léon Mathot, Le Roi du cirage (1931), directed by Pierre Colombier, Bouboule Ier, roi des Nègres (1933), directed by Léon Mathot, and Prince Bouboule, directed by Jacques Houssin (1939).