Two friends, Tricoche and Cacolet, are partners in a detective agency. Chance has it that Cacolet is hired by Van der Pouf, a rich banker who wants him to watch over his wife Bernardine while the latter, on her part, seeks the services of Thicoche.
Auguste, a somewhat simple-minded Provençal fisherman, loves and admires Mireille. This concerns only Maurice, son of an important wholesaler, whom scruples do not stifle.
Based on the popular stage play by Georges Courteline. The film is set in 1885. It focuses on a group of troops, a mix of regulars and reservists, and their different responses to the daily military routines.
The reservist Lafleur, having a wife, a mistress and still running after the first petticoat that comes along, his namesake, an active soldier, finds himself embroiled in the vengeance or intrigues that all these women are plotting.
Hercule, a young peasant, inherits a Parisian newspaper with a large circulation. The editor-in-chief, Vasco, takes advantage of his ignorance to make corruption prevail.
Following a broadcast on the radio, each of the listeners remembers these "little nothings" (the title is borrowed from a play by Mozart), which have often changed their lives.
Using the backdrop and excitement of a local carnival, this soundie short features four different and unique acts, from the fast talking carnival barker (Clyde Hager) and the singing of Jon Peerce to the great jazz music of the Cotton Club Tramp Band and a tap dance routine performed by Three DeLovelies.