Just a Phone Call

In the story which takes place at the beginning of the century Károly Bauer pupil experiences a series of everyday failures during twenty four hours in the family, on the street and at school.

János Apró, a widowed master bootmaker in Pest, is raising his nine small children on his own. They are so poor that, at Christmas, the only gift he can offer them is teaching them a cheerful song greeting the Baby Jesus—a song they can sing together. The melody rings out from the lips of the nine smiling children, filling the entire house; yet, the sound so disturbs the wealthy, solitary landlord living upstairs that he comes down to demand silence. Upon seeing their poverty, however, he abandons his intention; instead, he offers to adopt one of the boys—raising him to wealth so that he might later help the others.

The once celebrated actress, Aunt Mici, refuses to go and spend her old days in the old actors' home. She lets her apartment, in exchange for being taken care of, to a young couple. Laci and Kati care for the old woman with loving tenderness. Suddenly, Mici's one time lover, Alfréd turns up.

A young man has his hepatic duct replaced with a plastic tube after an accident but starts to get worried how this will affect his manliness.

Three colleagues and their driver decide to bathe naked in a river and find respite on a hot summer day. However, a mongrel makes their experience an unpleasant one.