Produced for television by Claude-Jean Philippe, the « Encyclopédie audiovisuelle du cinéma », recounts the history of French cinema from its birth to the beginning of the 1960s. With commentary read by Jean Rochefort.

Maloin, a maritime station guard, spends his nights at the port signal box. One night, he becomes the witness of a murder: for a simple suitcase smuggled, the altercation between the two men turns to drama. While the first falls and drowns, the second flees. Maloin, instead of warning the police, decides to dive in and recover the suitcase...which contains more than 3 million in small denominations! That's when the trouble begins...

The Bontemps family, like all the inhabitants of the village of Coussy la Chapelle, are passionate about radio. Coco, the fiancé of Jacqueline Bontemps, participates in all the contests and under the name of Mr. Bontemps wins a beautiful Sunday. All arrive in Paris and in the premises of the Parisian Post Office attend popular broadcasts.

Mr. Durand is bored in his relationship. He takes a mistress but does not take long to return to his wife, a little because he is sad, a little also because he has affection for her, but above all out of selfish habit.

A scandalised Frenchman returns from Africa where he has been involved in illegal trading of mines (resulting in the deaths of many African miners). His bourgeois family are wary of the shame that he will bring so he must try to redeem himself and his family's name.

Julien Villandrit owns a textile factory whose manager, Henri Corrandi, is his childhood friend. Both love the same woman, Régine de Bettigny, who grants her hand to Villandrit. Mad with jealousy, Corradin will use all means to break up the couple: he does not hesitate to compromise Régine, to send Julien to prison for a crime he did not commit, to spread misfortune. But despite a long and painful separation, Julien and Régine will find each other, still bound by the same love.

The irresistible rise of a young provincial, Miquette, who, having risen to Paris, will experience success in the theater and love in Hollywood with a very attractive tennis player.

An obscure mechanic falls in love with a an champion pilot.

Young d'Artagnan leaves Gascony for Paris where he hopes to become a Musketeer of the Guard. He does meet three Musketeers, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, but totally by chance and for... a duel against them! But he soon befriends them and follows them in their adventures, notably on a secret mission to uncover a plot contrived against the Queen by Cardinal Richelieu.

While sailing on a yacht off the French Riviera a shy young man and the owner's daughter are shipwrecked on an island.

Hoping to scare wealthy young Bernard into getting married to his longtime fiancee Georgette, a phony fortune-teller is hired to inform Bernard that he is to die very soon. But thanks to a case of mistaken identity, the fortune-teller delivers this message to middle-aged gym instructor Étienne. Instead of heading towards the altar, however, Étienne decides to live his last few months on earth to the fullest -- and as a result becomes a millionaire at the gaming tables of Monte Carlo. Upon learning that he isn't going to kick the bucket after all, our hero pretends to be at death's door anyway, all for the purpose of patching up the rocky romance between Bernard and Georgette.

A widow named Blanche Montel endeavours to find a man with whom to produce a child so that she can pretend that the child was her late husband's and so inherit a fortune.

Blaireau, a poacher, is imprisoned for an offense he didn't commit. An ambitious lawyer tries to exculpate and glorify him. But, once he's released, this major philosopher destroys in just a few hours the prestige painstakingly built by his liberator.

Simultaneously made French version of "Einbrecher": A wealthy old husband looks for the successor for his young wife.A devious gentleman burglar is one possibility he toys with.

While engaged in the six-day Vel d'Hiv event, a cyclist is concerned about the behaviour of his wife, whom he believes to be unfaithful.

In 1925 what may have been the first cycling film was made, Le Roi de la Pédale starring the popular comedy actor Biscot, and with scenes shot on the Tour de France and also with Henri Decoin as a screenwriter.

At the urging of his over-protective father, André Carel, a young bourgeois from Paris, travels to Lake Geneva to rejuvenate his health. There, he falls in love with Reine, the beautiful daughter of a simple boatsman. In order to impress her solely through his personality and character, he conceals his wealthy origins and, disguising himself as a migrant laborer, takes up work on board her father's ship.

A young man falls in love with the daughter of the man who adopted him.

Bamboche threw his wife in the water. She's not dead and re-married with Dartès under an alias. Dartès himself goes under the name of one of Bamboche's friend's. The bigamist wife then falls in love with another man : Dr Verdier, who loves Mariette, a sweet girl who turns out to be the child Dartès abandoned long ago.

"Be bold, young man, be bold!" repeats Judge Barbachon to his clerk Belhomme. Putting the precepts of his boss into practice, Belhomme first tries to seduce Madame Barbachon, and is thrown out of the house. Moving on to the capital of the region to look for another job, Belhomme meets a charming young lady on the tramway. He continues to follow the advice of Judge Barbachon...

Chichinette (Blanche Montel) is in love with a playboy named Philippe (Jean Devalde). She follows him to Paris, believing his promise of marriage, only to come to her senses.

Gustave (Biscot) realizes he has acquired a telekinetic power.

Following a series of unfortunate accidents, the eminently respectable Séraphin, the meticulous and correct manager in an insurance company, finds himself trouserless in the middle of the street.

Rudolph Strelitz, known as 'Barrabas', is the leader of a brutal underground gang causing chaos and destruction in the lives of civilized people. A lawyer, Claude Varèse, is strongly determined to bring Strelitz to justice for the purpose of revenge, after his father was unjustly guillotined for the murder of Laure d'Hérigny, the mistress of an American millionaire. Later, the sister of Claude Varèse, Françoise, is kidnapped by Dr Lucius, one of the henchmen of Barrabas. Serialised over 12 chapters.

Kaatje, the daughter of the miller Schoonejans, and Jef, a little shepherd, who live near Delft, are happy together. In a floral parade, the carriage the two children have decorated with tulips wins the first prize. The next day, during a thunderstorm, lightning destroys the mill and kills Schoonejans. A life of misery starts for his widow and daughter. Remembering how the theatre manager Boolmans had applauded the dancing of Kaatje and Jef at the floral parade, the widow takes her daughter to Amsterdam, where Boolmans engages Kaatje. The years pass, and Kate has become a famous dancer.