Marcia (Joan Crawford) is a young socialite who shares her New York home with her alcoholic grandmother, Fanny Townsend (Edna May Oliver). Marcia is a firm believer that a couple should be faithful to one another, unlike her peers who do not feel so strongly. Marcia meets Jim (Franchot Tone), who agrees with her on the subject of a couple's monogamy and pursues her. Marcia, however, decides to pursue Sherry (Robert Montgomery), whom Marcia sees as a challenge and seeks to cure him of his philandering nature.
Country girl Loretta Dalrymple (Marion Davies) arrives in New York City and gets a job as a chambermaid in a luxurious hotel, the same hotel in which con man "Click" Wiley (Pat O'Brien) and his photographer partner Ed Olsen (Frank McHugh) are three weeks in arrears. Desperate to avoid being evicted by the assistant manager, Mr. Yates (Berton Churchill), Click has Ed make a composite photograph by combining the best features of several renowned Hollywood beauties and enters the resulting fake under the name "Dawn Glory" in a nationwide beauty contest for the $2500 prize. Dawn Glory wins.
The film focuses on a run-down boarding house in London, home to an assorted group of residents. Many of them cling precariously to their social positions with only one figure, the wealthy self-made businessman Mr Wright, being truly successful. The house is owned by the grasping Mrs Sharpe, who mistreats the maid, Stasia, a rehabilitated juvenile delinquent. The various members of the household are miserable and openly sneering and rude towards each other, the one exception being the respect shown by all to the powerful Mr Wright. In the case of one couple, Major Tomkin and his wife, this involves pressuring their daughter Vivian to marry Wright in spite of her obvious horror at the idea.
Max de Mirecourt, écrivain célèbre fatigué des frasques de sa femme, part en voyage en Tunisie chercher l'inspiration. Il rencontre là-bas la belle Aouïna, dont la personnalité l'intrigue à tel point qu'il décide d'en faire le personnage principal de son prochain roman, Civilisation. Ayant inculqué les bonnes manières à la jeune fille, il la ramène à Paris, en la présentant comme la « Princesse Tam Tam », venue tout droit de son Inde natale. Un stratagème destiné en grande partie à rendre jalouse sa femme Lucie, car il sait qu'elle courtise le Maharadjah de Datane.
Musical stage star Mona Leslie (Jean Harlow), jailed for reckless driving, is bailed out by her friend, sports promoter and gambler Ned Riley (William Powell), to headline a charity event. However, she finds that all the seats have been bought by wealthy Bob Harrison Jr. (Franchot Tone), president and only member of S.A.M.L. (the Society for the Admiration of Mona Leslie). Mona begins dating Bob, with Ned's approval. Mona's Granny (May Robson) tells Ned that her granddaughter would break it off if he asked her to. Ned is reluctant at first, but eventually buys a wedding ring. However, he is too late.
Deux rangers, Ram Hansen et Bobby Francis utilisent des pigeons voyageurs pour communiquer des informations sur un repaire de bandits. Mais Bobby est découvert, et le caporal Daniels, alias Kid Tombstone, parvient à le remplacer en se faisant passer pour un ivrogne inoffensif.
Pour impressionner sa fiancée, une femme de chambre, qui sort de l'hôpital, un liftier d'un immeuble chic organise un dîner dans l'appartement d'un propriétaire absent. Mais ce dernier revient inopinément...
Un jeune homme a tué un homme en légitime défense pour sauver la femme qu'il aime, il avoue son crime à la justice et se retrouve condamné à mort. Comment le sauver ?
Broadway star Patricia Wallis quits her Broadway show to run off with wealthy Fred Arnold. Her director Jimmy Hart follows them aboard the super-speed train the "Streamline Express". Meanwhile, also aboard is John Bradley and his mistress Elaine Vincent, but Bradley's wife Mary ends up on the train as well. When Elaine gives her crooked pal Gilbert Landon a diamond pendant given her by Bradley, in order to keep Landon quiet about her past, she pretends the pendant was stolen, in hopes of hiding the truth from Bradley. But Landon manages to throw suspicion on Jimmy Hart, who is masquerading as a steward. It takes several confessions by several people to resolve everyone's dilemmas.