Known for Acting
A story about the conditions in Bohemia in the second half of the nineteenth century, when small-town officials, such as Hrdlička, succumbed to the predators of the emerging large financial and industrial bourgeoisie, represented by Jestřáb.
A very hardworking but also very naive insurance company clerk, Valentin Plavec, becomes the target of endless pranks, jokes and recessions from his colleagues Bejšovec and Voborník. However, their last successful trick somewhat gets out of hand. They add a one to the winning number 8456 and convince Valentin that he has won a million in the lottery. However, since Valentin cannot collect his winnings immediately, he withdraws twenty thousand, which is all the savings he has saved together with his fiancée Helena, and starts shopping for a deposit. However, the truth soon comes out and when his colleagues reveal to him that it was just a joke, they all leave him, only the faithful Helena stays and even helps the unfortunate fiancé cancel all the deposits and agreed deals. When the newspaper reports that there has been a mistake and the winning ticket is number 18456, Valentin decides to take revenge on the two pranksters...
A pair of circus clowns, played by Vlasta Burian and Jaroslav Marvan, take in an abandoned child and care for them even when they have to make a living as street musicians. The grateful foundling loves his adoptive parents even in adulthood, when he struggles with both love and stolen loot that accidentally falls into their laps. However, the result is only a crudely sentimental comedy that is considered one of the weakest works of the king of comedians, although he also participated in the direction.
A rich bachelor, Pavel Haken, tries - with the help of his faithful servant - to escape the courtship of marriageable young ladies. They meet at a ladies' social club. In the cafeteria there, he is helped by the talkative Andula, the daughter of a poor taxi driver. Haken longs for peace and has a secluded weekend villa built for him. The brief silence that followed his mother's departure is interrupted by the inhabitants of a tent camp. The girls from the club have taken advantage of Mrs. Haken's offer and camped on their property, and Andula helps out in the camp kitchen...
Kind and decent professor Artur Čejka is about to marry his fiancée Helena Frýdlová. On the eve of the wedding, he comes across the unfortunate actress Káťa Holanová on the riverbank, who has been unsuccessfully looking for an engagement for a long time and wants to take her own life out of desperation. Čejka prevents her from committing suicide and helps her. He meets the girl again on the train when he and Helena are going on their honeymoon...
A young farmer, Jan Aleš, is drafted from his native Pošumaví to join the army. Since he likes his new environment, he stays with the army as a long-term serviceman. He even successfully passes the exams for the military academy. There he becomes friends with his Slovak colleague Milan Jurčík. He studies diligently, but thanks to Milan he sometimes finds time to go out into the city. That is how he meets the factory owner's daughter, Zdenka, with whom he falls in love. However, her father is not very happy about the promising relationship.
Mr. Ducháček runs the law firm of JUDr. Faukner in a peculiar but completely devoted manner, which manages the financial affairs of the Rispaldic family. The family members treat their lawyer Faukner with condescension, except for their daughter Julia, who secretly loves him. However, no one except Ducháček knows that the squandering family no longer has any money and that JUDr. Faukner is subsidizing it, because he is also secretly in love with Julia.
Věra accepts the offer of her friend Kajetán, who arranges a position for her in Dominik's puppet factory. The spirited girl impresses her employer, Antonín Dominik, so much that he falls in love with her. Dominik's mother notices her son's interest in Věra and immediately fires her. Kajetán, who works in the studio of sculptor Výr, who is engaged in the production of mechanical puppets that can be used to advertise goods, asks Věra for help...
Attorney František Uher is known for his patriotic mindset and active assistance in disputes between the Czechs and the Austrian justice system. One of his clients is the poet Šulc, who, while staying with Uhry, discovers that the lawyer's wife Anna is flirting with Uhry's cousin Hojer. When Anna does not respond to Šulc's warning, the poet draws attention to Anna's relationship with Uhra. Uher wants to know the truth, so he returns early from a business trip and actually catches Anna cheating. Disappointment brings him to the "Batalion" pub in Old Prague, where Šulc also used to go some time ago. Here, Uher becomes a mentor to the poorest, but gradually falls into alcoholism. He once again finds strength and stands on the side of justice when he accuses the police in court of murdering poor Lojzík, who wanted to marry the unfortunate waitress from "Battalion" Mimi. After appearing in court, Uher is arrested and "Battalion" is closed. After his release, Uher becomes an organist...
Professor Karas is widely known as enthusiastic propagator of the motto "Morality Above All Else". He guides his students as well as his own family to live a morally decent life. One day he has an unexpected visit. It's his illegitimate daughter Vera, who is proof of his thoughtless youth. Mr. Karas know that she can ruin his image, thus he decides to keep her a secret and asks her to leave. Instead of leaving she takes a position of a governess in his own family without letting him know. Mr. Karas realizes that he must reveal the truth sooner or later, but he doesn't have enough courage to do so. As he postpones it, he is more and more scared to come to his own home.
