Tales of Budapest

Hotel Sunrise is a busy place. Male guests are, almost without an exception, in love with Mária, the directress of the hotel.

When Otto Wallburg and Szöke Szakall, as selfless taxi drivers, engage in both sentimental and comical duels over a little boy, at least the world of comedy remains intact.

In a post office at Balatonföldvár, Pali, a spoiled young man, one who has good manners and knows the way of the world, falls in love on one lazy summer afternoon with Teri, a young post office clerk and an orphan.

1938 screen adaptation of the 1904 musical version of the classic Hungarian fairy tale poem by Sándor Petőfi about the romantic adventures of Kukorica Jancsi and his beloved Iluska.

Az Uj Foldesur (The New Squire) was based on a novel by popular Hungarian author Maurice Jokal, whose many works had previously been largely ignored. After the wars of 1848, a retired Austrian army officer "returns to the soil" as a gentleman farmer in Hungary in the 1850s. The old campaigner is the father of two daughters: One of the girls comes to a sad end thanks to the malfeasances of a handsome spy, but the other has a happier fate when she falls in love with a Hungarian POW. The underlying theme is brotherhood, as the formerly warring Austrians and Hungarians at last find a common ground. Az Uj Foldesur was nearly twice as expensive as the average Hungarian film -- but at $40,000, its budget was a drop in the bucket compared to a typical Hollywood production.

Dr. Halmi has very strict principles towards women. He only employs ugly women in his office. So what can a poor unemployed secretary do? With the help of a wig and a pair of glasses, disguised as an old ugly woman, she soon becomes the lawyer's indispensable secretary.

Mr. Polgár is a provincial paper dealer. His sons, Viktor and Feri, are managers in a big factory in the capital, spending their money lavishly, living their lives in a careless, irresponsible way. Viktor is to marry a baroness and feels rather too uneasy about his father's small business. He persuades his old man into selling the business he had so long cherished and to move to their place in Pest.

At his friend Harcourt’s bachelor party, misogynist Dodd Austin recounts how a loaned ring led to his wrongful arrest, only to be immediately robbed by two masked women - reinforcing his vow, “Never trust a woman!” Weeks later, when bandits abduct him in the countryside, he’s rescued by the humble Helen Rye, who turns out to be a celebrated actress; her sudden reappearance (and a magician’s sleight of hand) restores his lost ring and his faith in love as they marry, proving he’s broken his own curse.

The director discusses film subjects with three screen-play writers. The three episodes are formed from readers' letters.

Ilonka, daughter of a former landowner, is a shop-assistant in her father's small pastry shop in Buda. In order to get a job for her fiancé, who is a young doctor, she befriends János, a painter and owner of the house.

The story takes place in a small village manor-house off Vásárosladány. Sándor leads a quiet life with his wife, son and the now poor relatives of his wife, one which is characterized by the monotony of rural boredom. The arrival of another poor relative, Kitty, a young girl brought up in America, whose way of thinking reflects modern times, puts an end to this overwhelming monotony.

Az Aranyember (The Man of Gold) was based on a novel by Jokai, at one time Hungary's foremost storyteller. Set in the early 19th century, the story revolves around Timar (Ferenc Kiss), a ferryman on a Danish tugboat. Rescuing the daughter (Marisa Kormos) of a Turkish nobleman from a watery grave, Timar is rewarded with the girl's hand in marriage. Now rich beyond his wildest dreams, our hero finds he is unsatisfied; it seems he has never forgotten his true love, flower girl Noemi (Anna Fuzes). Timar is forced to suffer mightily until he is finally permitted a tender reunion with the girl of his dreams.

A light hearted comedy, from the thirties. One of the most successful ones in Hungary. The ever enchanting story of a beautiful girl falling in love with a rich man.

A silent comedy from Hungary.