Doughnuts and Society is the first of several attempts by Republic Pictures to create a new screen team comparable to MGM's Marie Dressler and Polly Moran. In this one, Louise Fazenda and Maude Eburne are paired up as Kate Flannagan and Belle Dugan, joint owners of a greasy-spoon diner. Unexpectedly striking it rich, Belle buys her way into high society, followed in short order by Kate, who has likewise increased her bank account with a revolutionary new invention. The humor lies in the contrasting behavior of the "400" and the rambunctious heroines, who spend most of their time trying to one-up each other. The romantic subplot concerns Kate's son Jerry (Eddie Nugent) and Belle's daughter Joan (Ann Rutherford), both of whom are extremely relieved when their mothers go broke and return to normal. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi