Satire about Hollywood during the transition period from silent films to "talkies."
A small-time vaudeville team heads for Hollywood with the idea of teaching silent film stars how to talk. They find employment with Glogauer Studios but are soon fired. George, the stupid one of the team, dares to reprimand Mr. Glogauer and, to everyone's surprise, is made head of the studio.
His first step is to make the wrong film, for which he is fired again; but the film becomes a smash hit and he is once more reinstated. Later, he buys 2,000 aircraft (simply because he gets one free as a bonus) but, instead of bankrupting the studio, corners the plane market just when a craze for aviation films begins. By now Glogauer no longer bothers to fire him. George becomes the reigning genius of Hollywood, whose destiny will in the future be shaped by his every simple-minded act.