I definitely think it shows a much lighter world than what reality was at the time. Just giving away five pounds and having not a care in the world, and spending a fortune on flowers for someone Ziegfeld didn't even really know at the time shows that, for sure.
I also think that if this was Pre-Code, as some have mentioned above, Miss Held's costuming would have been very different. She wouldn't have been so fully covered and I think she would have been more flirtatious in her performance. I also think there would have been more to Ziegfeld's gift besides the flowers. Perfume perhaps, or some sort of article of clothing, I'm not sure but definitely something more.
