Minne is a very imaginative young lady. She pretends to have had lovers and can't think of anything better to do other than... to tell Antoine, her husband, the day she marries him. Bad beginning for the couple... As the marriage is not consummated for years, Minne feels frustrated and tries to find elsewhere the carnal knowledge she does not find at home. But Antoine is a kind-hearted man and on the occasion of a trip, a sexual balance is at last found between the two partners.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the destiny of Félicie Nanteuil, a young girl from the provinces who became a big star on the stage thanks to a comedian who committed suicide out of love for her.
A young woman is in love with a young writer, winner of the Prix Goncourt. Married to a banker, she must face her husband's anger and the blackmail of a former suitor.
Having pulled off a robbery with his friend Maurice, Olivier leaves his mistress Lola and hides out in a small village in the country. He finds work, thanks to a young man named Gilbert, who introduces him to his sister, Monique. Once the robbery has been all but forgotten, Olivier intends to head back to Paris, but before he goes, he steals money from his employer. In Paris, Olivier wants to say a proper goodbye to Lola, but she is being blackmailed by Jérôme, an antique dealer who has recognized a necklace stolen by Olivier. Before returning to Monique, Olivier calls on Jérôme to recover the necklace.
Returning by train to the French port of Le Havre, Jacques Lantier, a tormented railwayman, meets by chance the impulsive stationmaster Roubard and Séverine, his wife.
Germaine Moreuil's insane jealousy triggers such violent marital quarrels that the spouses file for divorce. When Germaine's parents find out, they sham a fierce spat to disgust their daughter and her husband with the pathetic spectacle of a couple at loggerheads. But just as their farce is on the brink of becoming a tragedy, events combined with the blunders of all four happily reconcile everyone.
Jacotte, a little orphan, is adopted by two single uncles who are looking for a governess for her. Monique hides that she is very rich to be hired because she is seduced by the little girl. Her father, chocolate manufacturer and competitor of the uncles, decides to sink them. But everything works out when Monique marries one of the brothers.
Unhappy with her humdrum life as a provincial schoolteacher, Audrey Greenwood marries Major Carter, an officer in the British Army whom she does not love. Not long after the wedding Carter is on his way to Malaysia, accompanied by his wife, to take up a post in the British colony. During the long sea voyage, Audrey becomes acquainted with the handsome Prince Selim, the heir to the Malaysian throne. Life in the province of Malacca soon proves disagreeable to the free-spirited Englishwoman and she becomes a social outcast when her amorous affair with the prince is discovered.
During a transvestite ball, a young provincial meets Fanny Legrand. A great love is born between them. Later, the young man learns that Fanny was a great coquette. He leaves her, he comes back, he forgives. But when he embarks for America, Fanny does not follow him.
Jean Renoir's directional debut and first silent film stars his wife, Catherine Hessling, as a young girl who manages to turn her tragic family life into one of joy and happiness.