A number of different segments taken from 19th century Italian stories.

The mood is set with the opening with excerpts from the Excelsior Ball, a famous ballet at the turn of the century that heralded the advances of the upcoming century, for a book-dealer to introduce the various stories in this compilation film. The first story chosen is (English titles)"Less Than a Day," a comedy of would-be lovers meeting in a country-side rendezvous; ""A Question of Property" is a story of two men who fight over the ownership of a load of manure; "The Idyll" is the story of a well-to-do young boy who has a crush on the girl next door, and he has been told by his mother that babies are born when two people kiss. After the fact, though; a selection of popular songs serves as an intermission before the next story, "The Vise," where a woman has committed adultery with her husband's best friend, and the merciless husband knows about it; the last episode revolves around the farcical trial of a woman for murdering her mother-in-law.—Les Adams <[email protected]>