1938, France, Paris, at the Superior Conservatory of Dramatic Art ("Conservatoire Supérieur d'Art Dramatique"). The first-year entrance exams are in full swing. Many applicants, few accepted. Isabelle (Janine Darcey) is one of the few chosen. She joins former students from the second and third years, including François (Claude Dauphin) and Cécilia (Odette Joyeux). They attend the drama class run by Professor Lambertin (Louis Jouvet). The young people, passionate and eager to become comedians, clash in tumultuous love affairs, because by dint of acting, they imagine that life is a farce. François, for example, is in love with Isabelle, who also loves him, but is pursued by Cecilia, his former mistress... "Put art in your life and life in your art!"

A rich peasant, Carvajan, seeks revenge on the castellan, Clairefont, with whom he had a serious conflict. Their respective children, Antoinette and Pascal, meet and fall in love with each other. Robert de Clairefont, Antoinette's brother, unjustly accused of murder, is defended and saved by Pascal. Finally, love, by uniting the son of one to the daughter of the other, will appease souls and reconcile families.

Four young friends share the carefree, cheerfulness, laughter and dances of Bohemian life. Rodolphe the painter, Alexandre Chaunard the composer, Colline the philosopher, as well as Marcel and his friend Musette. Mimi, a romantic young girl, falls in love with Rodolphe.

A fictitious biography of Jacques Offenbach and Hortense Schneider.

Charles Fouquet, the Minister of Family Affairs, is having a hard time. His wife Olympe, although not that young, is expecting a baby. His daughter Annie, as for her, is pregnant by her fiance. And let's not forget Georges, Fouquet's son, who has seduced Natacha, his close (too close!) collaborator. As if that were not enough, a former mistress of Charles' comes and reveals to him the existence of a son he knew nothing about. But Charles is a man of action and he is not so easily deterred: he WILL take action against this abundance of offspring.

In one shocking moment, a conservative bigot finds out that one of his adult sons is gay and the other is the kept "boy toy" of a wealthy Japanese widow. Predictably, his first reaction is overreaction.

A father discovers one day that one of his sons is a homosexual and the other, is the "gigolo" of a Japanese countess. He is first horrified, but finally accepts the situation because it brings him economical advantages.