France, the beginning of the XIV century. Every night, Queen Margaret of Burgundy and her two sisters arrange orgies, to which beautiful nobles are invited. The young men were brought blindfolded, and after a night of love they were killed and their corpses thrown into the river, because the queen was afraid that her husband would learn about her adventures. One of her lovers managed to escape death. He knows the secrets of the queen, knows that she once gave birth to a son from him, claims that he has evidence that Margarita wanted to kill her father and blackmails her.

Witty narration follows the history of Versailles Palace; founded by Louis XIII, enlarged by autocratic Louis XIV, whose personal affairs and amours, and those of his two successors, are followed in more detail to the start of the Revolution, after which the story is brought rapidly up to date. A huge cast plays mainly historical persons who appear briefly.

When Monsieur Crauqual, the supervisor, is found hanging, all wonder why this rather rich person decided to kill himself. And when a pupil is found hanging too, François and his friends decide to investigate. They are certain there is a killer within the walls of Collège François 1er and determined to prevent him from going on running wild.

A resistance leader is wounded when the Germans raid his underground print shop. He escapes to the home of a German-friendly Parisian and is helped by her son and daughter. A Jewish doctor also aids him. They all join him in his efforts against the Nazis and derail a munitions train.

A young man from an aristocratic family tires of the country life and moves to Paris where he squanders his inheritance. Returning to his home with remorse, he reconciles with his father and becomes engaged to his true love.

Grigou owns a patch of land between farmers Martin's and Aubert's fields. Both covet this plot.As Grigou has lost the title deed,the mayor of the village decides to sell it.After an interminable auction sale, Aubert carries the day .To add insult to injury,shortly after, Martin is expelled from his farm,and becomes an innkeeper (a doomed inn where the former owner hanged himself). Ten years after, Aubert's daughter falls in love with Martin's son.Their fathers being deadly enemies, their marriage seems impossible.

Two twin brothers have joined the army, Paul by vocation is a lieutenant of spahis and Georges to escape the police is a sergeant in the Foreign Legion. A snitch having informed the police of Georges' presence at the Legion, he must leave. In Casablanca, Paul helps his brother escape the police by taking his identity to allow him to regain his honor.

A father allows himself to be accused of the murder of a blackmailer to save his son who is the real murderer. But he is forced to confess, and commits suicide in his cell.

Jean is a ten-year-old boy who runs away from boarding school because he thinks he is the cause of his parents' marital breakup. A famous opera singer offers him shelter in her home.

1915, in invaded Belgium, the Germans seek in vain to dismantle the organization of the smugglers of men who help volunteers to cross the Dutch border.

The life in Morocco of an officer of the Foreign Legion, Colonel de Joyeuse.

Helene is based on Helene Wilfur, a novel by Vicki (Grand Hotel) Baum. Madeleine Renaud essays the title role, a young medical student in love with aspiring musician Pierre Regnier (Jean-Lous Barrault). Pierre's father, a noted surgeon, puts pressure on his son to give up music in favor of medicine. Unable to withstand his father's remonstrations, Pierre kills himself, prompting the grieving Madeleine to forget all about romance and dedicate her life to the cause of healing others. Wilfur avoids the usual soap-opera goo by offering realistic performances and credible dialogue (the English-language subtitles were composed by erudite film critic Herman G. Weinberg).

A young girl has left her family and lives as best she can on the generosity of her lovers. A naval officer introduces her to Toulon in a special environment which provides companions to sailors on leave. After some setbacks, she finds love and protection with a doctor who marries her.

A secret message is on a recording, a man who had disappeared for a while may be trying to steal it.His wife, a singer, teams up with a spy chief she has met to confront her husband.

The tamer Nikita marries the girl he had once recruited into the circus but she loves a trapeze artist.

Towards the end of the 19th century, the Duke of Gerolstein traveled to Paris. Sixteen years earlier he had a daughter who was taken from him by her mother who was chased out of the palace. After many dramatic adventures, the Duke finds his daughter in the person of Fleur de Marie, martyred throughout her childhood by the Owl and the schoolmaster.

A poor woman forced to sew in a brothel for a living, a museum guard whose daughters party, an old lady with a fiery heart, and a teacher whose daughter is dying of tuberculosis, live in the same building and everyone dreams of love.

The tribulations of a banknote, from its exit from a counter to its destruction, passing through dozens of hands.

An honest worker is unjustly accused of murder. The culprit promises him to give his son a good education if he allows himself to be condemned.

A commander who had devised helpful defenses for his country kills a spy who'd tried to entrap him.The officer's young wife who had been thinking of leaving him for a minister, rallies to his side.

Didier Méreuil, affectionately called Poliche, is in love with Rosine, a beautiful girl, so he does everything to please her. She does not love him, and accepts a seductive airplane pilot who proposes to her. One day, she discovers that the funny man is just a front behind which there is a serious Didier. She will try to make up and live with him - but the gap between them is already too large.

A widower sends his son Dédé to boarding school, falls in love with a young woman and gradually neglects the child, not out of disaffection but because of routine. The little boy is helpless: he feels he has been completely forsaken - Fortunately, things improve: Dédé ends up finding a new mummy.

The story focuses on a street in the Parisian banlieue where Italian and French workers live. Their neighborhood will soon be demolished and a mysterious character hides himself in this street.

Under the regime of Louis XVIII. Years after Waterloo, Napoleon's loyal officers live in retirement on half-pay. Useless and idle, they have lost their prestige and keep meeting in the hope of the Emperor’s return. When Napoleon dies, they decide to plot the rise to power of Napoleon II.

The error of an examining magistrate forever tears apart a happy and united family.

1871. Roger Laroque accuses himself of a crime he did not commit to save his mistress, Julia de Noirville, from dishonor. He escapes from prison and is considered dead for fourteen years. Then he returns in the guise of a rich American in order to unmask the real murderer.

A painter short of the readies becomes famous overnight and he and his mate (and model) move into a luxury house. But the man falls for a princess, leaving his partner crying.

A sailor, who meets a lovely music hall singer during a police raid, falls in love. In a contest at a fair, he defeats a former boxing champ. The ex-champ trains the sailor to become a boxer. After he wins the French championship, the sailor is swayed by easy money and a sultry coquette. The singer goes on a singing tour, and the sailor falls into decadence. He enters the European championship spiritually empty and in bad condition.

Marceline, the young wife of the florist Jean, can't help flirting with other men, but her brother Clo-Clo takes the poor husband's side against his sister.

A heavily fictionalized version of the RMS Titanic story.