Henri Faust, retiring after 50 years as a professor in a circa-1700 French university, despairs at the ravages of old age ... whereupon Mephistopheles, agent of Lucifer, appears as a virile, handsome young man and exchanges bodies with him to induce Faust to sign a pact to exchange his soul for renewed youth, riches and power. But though the "new" Faust is attracted by the material improvements in his life, he remains wary of signing, while Mephistopheles, now posing as the aged professor whose body he inhabits, must find a way to trick him into signing the pact - and dissuade him from the love of a gypsy girl who prays for his soul - or find himself damned by his own Master...

In a little town with a renowned college a female student is found after she was hogtied and strangled to death. Inspector Marco is assigned to catch the murderer.

As a favor to his grandmother, singer Rudy Hirigoyen agrees to sing incognito, under the name Romano, in the nightclub his cousin Gustave has just opened in a small seaside resort. The staff and musicians are students camping out in the pine forest near "L'Auberge Fleurie". Grandma has rented the apartment above the club to summer guests: Commandant Portafaux and his wife.

A young king and a princess are engaged to be married but have never met. Both are reluctant to take part in an arranged marriage but they meet in Vienna and fall in love.

For Naval officers duty comes first. Navy Lieutenant Favrel is one of these men. He has promised his wife Simone to stay with her all the time but a last mission aboard a training cruiser makes him realize that his life is tied to the sea. For his part, Navy cadet Pierre Hardouin understands that sailing is his vocation. The prospect of staying home alone while Pierre is on mission, frightens Madeleine, the girl of his heart. But the young woman ends up accepting the ordeal and marrying Pierre.

Now that the world conflict is over, five inseparable wartime buddies swear eternal friendship now to each other. But there's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip. Jean becomes a postman, Marcel a boxer, Roger an actor, André a student and Philippe remains what he has always been, a young man of good social standing. Roger, who can't find any role, is introduced through his singer sister Valérie, to Frédo, a shady nightclub owner.Roger soon becomes one of Frédo's henchmen. To make matters worse, he swipes Jean's fiancée, Simone. Marcel, who loses fight after fight, ends up joining Fredo's gang as well. André, who wanted to redeem the faults of his father during the Occupation, gets killed in the Indochina war. Marcel is shot down while taking part in a robbery. In her turn, Valérie is bumped off by an accomplice of Fredo and Roger is sent to jail.

Having cured the local café owner, Diogène Leguignon becomes convinced that he is a healer and possesses the fluid. His wife sees the benefits of this gift and urges Diogene to exercise his power, particularly on a wealthy old man, M. Coq. Arlette Leguignon, however, is in love with a young doctor, who is violently opposed to her future father-in-law. Leguignon ends up condemned and, disgusted, no longer wants to look after others. When Mr. Coq dies, making him his legatee, Leguignon has to contend with the Coq family. This time, Doctor Martinet comes to his defense. The inheritance is used to build a clinic where Leguignon can carry out his experiments as a magnetizer.

Smalltown confectioner Lespinasse, hopeful of being reelected as chief councillor, is opposed by Darcepoil, the local druggist. Darcepoil arranges for the incumbent's defeat by having Pantaflon, a nightclub singer, lure him to the nudist camp on the Isle of Levant, where Lespinasse is photographed surrounded by half-naked women. At home, he is berated by his wife and thrown out of office; but he returns to Levant with the penitent Pantaflon and is welcomed by the nudists and voted camp president. His forgiving wife follows him and herself becomes a nudist.

Charming, charming but unstable, Rudy is married to Lydia. He dreams of becoming a famous painter. His father-in-law offers him a contract: if he stays in the same job for at least two months, he can devote himself to painting. Under the name of his friend Ravot, Rudy is hired to teach gymnastics at a girls' college. Things soon get complicated. The jealous Lydia, who plays student, keeps an eye on her husband. The headmistress glares at him, and the arrival of the real Mme Ravot doesn't help matters. The contract is almost not honored, but as in the best comedies, everything works out.

La Hurlette and Carmen are a pair of philosophical tramps who enjoy simple pleasures in the company of the cheerful Sosthène. As in the fairy tales, La Hurlette learns that he has just inherited a tidy fortune, provided he can find a job. By dint of hard work, he manages to do so, and a banquet brings together his disinherited friends. Determined to live the high life, La Hurlette and Carmen lose all their inheritance at the Cabourg casino, and end up as philosophical as ever on their favorite bench.

Au Royaume des Cieux takes place in in a dreadful girls' reformatory. A couple of lovers will try to escape from this living hell.