Karel Jičínský

School Is the Foundation of Life

Seventh form pupils at a grammar school in Přívlaky are preparing for a secondary school sports competition. Class creep Krhounek gives the class teacher Lejsal a copy of the seventh form’s magazine Roar. Most of the teachers insist on severe punishing the culprit. The author does not own up and consequently the whole class is punished by being banned from taking part in the schools competition. The most gifted pupil, Benetka, rather sharply criticises the school in a homework essay on a subject of his choice. The strict Czech language teacher is convinced Benetka is the author of the school magazine. Benetka denies the charge but his expulsion from school is proposed anyway on account the views he expounded in his essay. Eventually, Boukal, the author of the school magazine comes forward and admits to writing it. The pupils are allowed to take part in the contest and thanks to Benetka they win. In the meantime however the teachers vote to expell him.

Falešná kočička

A fortune teller predicts that Dr. Přelouč will marry the third poor girl he meets. Míla, the daughter of factory owner Janota, likes the doctor and, with the help of his housekeeper Amálka, sneaks into his home disguised as a poor shoelace saleswoman. She first prepares for her role by exploring the outskirts, where she meets Vendelín Pleticha, who becomes her guide to the local pubs and her teacher of the vernacular. Dr. Přelouč is enthusiastic about the poor, uneducated girl and tries to teach her the basics of social behavior and standard language. All this until he discovers that Míla has deceived him and that Pleticha is not her father, as she had claimed...

History of Philosophy

A student rebellion precedes revolutionary events in Prague.

Třetí zvonění

Girls, Stand Fast!

Emanuel Pokorný, a bachelor, is to join a rural church school as a professor. Before leaving, however, he finds an infant abandoned in his room. Since he has no time to search for the child's parents, he secretly takes the child to the boarding house. And from that moment on, there is no end to his travails...

The Case of Colonel Redl

The case of Colonel Redl -- an officer blackmailed into spying by virtue of his homosexuality. Alternate-language version of "Der Fall des Generalstabs-Oberst Redl" (1931)

Strakonický dudák

The story of the piper Švanda, who went abroad for money and fame, but whose love for his homeland ultimately wins.

The White Disease

In a country whose people have just been successfully persuaded of their superiority and the justification for military expansion by the fiery speeches of a dictator, the bacillus of a highly destructive form of leprosy has spread. It is called morbus Tshengi, or popularly „white disease“. The only one who has developed an effective cure for it is a physician of the poor named Galén. But he refuses to reveal the secret of his cure as long as the powerful destroy human lives through wars.