A famous vaudeville sketch focuses on the Broken Arms Hotel where the clerk has a wisecrack for every guest inquiry. Gracie Allen is the cigarette girl who does impressions of stars that were so good that you can't even guess who they are. That's after George Burns deals with clerk Chester Clute who doesn't even know the name of the hotel he works in. The Burns and Allen sketches are beyond description, with a uniquely ingenious way of making no sense yet seemingly filled with an unsurpassable bit of uncommon sense. I didn't quite get the ending with the presence of another woman looking to play bridge, but as long as Gracie is on screen, nothing else matters.

While I will admit that this is a competently made comedy short and it does provide a few laughs, I generally don't like the humor of Burns and Allen--in particular, I find I get annoyed with Gracie's prattling and a little of it goes a long way. Perhaps that might be because I have a family member that generally sounds like Gracie (it's no act) and my brother and I never found it all that funny in real life! But I have talked to other people who also found that the team's comedy didn't age all that well. However, before George meets Gracie, there are a few cute moments in the film as he interacts with the pretty horrid staff at a fancy hotel. And, the production values from Paramount are pretty good, so it's worth at least a quick look if you are curious since it's such a short film.