Zorka Janů

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.

Kluci na řece

On the banks of the Otava River stands a manor house that a group of boys find very mysterious. After visiting it, the boys discover that there is nothing there but an old lady and her granddaughter. The group splits into two camps and a "pitched" fight ensues, but it doesn't last long.

From the Bohemian Mills

You will meet the family of the miller Kaliba, who is proud not only of his mill, but also of the family tradition, according to which the milling profession has been passed down at the inn's mill for almost three hundred years. And since Mr. Kaliba has no son, it is certain that his only daughter Liduška must marry a miller. Perhaps this would have happened if the Kalibas had not gone to the anniversary exhibition. Here, Liduška meets the handsome engineer Karel Loukota, who is an overly zealous member of the cycling club "Don't Get Married!", but is not immune to love at all. Of course, he will face many hardships and obstacles, the biggest of which is, of course, the miller Kaliba with his fierce efforts to uphold the family tradition...

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...

Burian the Liar

Fifty years old Baron von Fibberg lives at The Fibberg Castle with his wife Olga and daughter Charley. Besides the delight in hunting, Baron is very enthusiastic about truth. Although he can't withstand any falsehood of others, he keeps his own intimate secrets from his wife. Charley seems to be an innocent girl at first glance, but she has a little secret too. She fell in love with a young fop Ernest Benda and married him in secret. Her only concern is the way, how to let her strict father know about the marriage. Together with her husband they prepare a plan how to do it, but it turns out to be a catastrophe for the whole family.

The Guild of the Kutná Hora Virgins

A morally questionable lord comes to the aid of a working class man who is to be executed for speaking out about thieving rich scoundrels sticking it to the poor.

Pacientka dr. Hegla

Pharmacist Janota's daughter, Karla, is about to get married to wealthy lawyer Jaroslav Kříž. On the day of the wedding, however, instead of the ceremony, she will have an appendectomy. After the successful procedure, the weakened Karla also develops severe pneumonia and even has a heart attack. Fortunately, she is under the care of Prague's best surgeon, MUDr. Hegl, who saves the young woman from certain death. Karla falls in love with the attractive doctor and begins seeing him. Hegl's resigned wife suffers silently from her husband's affairs in order to preserve the family. Karla's fiancé, on the other hand, cannot cope with the situation and commits suicide. When Karla becomes pregnant with Hegl, the doctor turns away from her. After all, he already has a new "patient". The girl is nevertheless determined to keep the child...

Fiery Summer

This romantic story turns on a stirring infatuation that takes hold of three young people under the influence of Simon, a Prague student. After the study year, 18 year-old Julio returns to his parental home, a little chateau on the Otava river. There he converges with his childhood friend Petr and the young boatman's daughter Klárka. Sharing her beguilement with Simon, who has quickly turned a tranquil summer atmosphere into a relationship drama, is Julio's cousin Rosa.

Minulost Jany Kosinové

Tulák Macoun

A series of unfortunate events led the protagonist astray: even taking other people's money did not save his wife's life, she died in childbirth. After his release from prison, he did not find the strength to report to his daughter who was placed in an orphanage, and after a fight in a pub, out of fear of being prosecuted again, he even fled abroad. But, old and sick, he still longs to return to his homeland.