RANKS AND PEOPLE

Episode film, based on three tales by Anton Chechov. “Saddled with Anna” deals with a young woman from poor conditions who marries a wealthy man, hoping to enable a better life for her family. But the man turns out to be a stingy tyrant who treats his wife as if she were a property – until every man at a posh ball develops a crush on her. “Death of an official” tells the tragic story of a small official who suffers a coughing fit at a theatre play and accidentally spits onto the bald head of the gentleman sitting before him. When he realizes that he has soiled a functionary of high rank, his bad conscience won’t leave him in peace. In the burlesque “The chameleon” a fat, opportunistic police inspector has got to solve a delicate case. At a market place, a man has been bitten into a finger by a little puppy dog. Initially full of understanding for the victim, the policeman’s attitude changes rapidly when somebody mentions that the dog belongs to the mayor.