Cesta do hlubin študákovy duše (1939)

Professor Rabiška (Jaroslav Průcha), who teaches at the local grammar school, has been recording events at the school for several years and collecting the curious items teachers confiscate from students during lessons. The seventh-year class is made up of a variety of students: Kulík (Ladislav Pešek), a gifted but unstudious boy; Mazánek (František Filipovský), an eager, ingratiating student; Chalupová (Jana Ebertová), the top student in the class; and Vaněk (Rudolf Hrušínský), a talented musician who is not much good at studying. After Vaněk receives a poor midyear report, his father (Gustav Hilmar) sells the piano, convinced that it is distracting his son from his studies. A new teacher of Latin and Czech, Professor Petr Voříšek (František Vnouček), joins the school. He was once a student of Professor Matulka (Jindřich Plachta), who teaches natural history. During one of Matulka’s lessons, a schoolboy prank makes him so angry that he collapses. His collapse affects all the students. They also discover that Professor Matulka has still not passed his state examinations because of stage fright, and is therefore poorly paid. So they come up with a plan to help him, with Professor Voříšek’s assistance. Under the pretext of buying specimens for the school’s insect collection, they lure Matulka to the university to see Professor Vondrák. Matulka gives an outstanding performance, which Professor Vondrák accepts as his state examination. Matulka, beaming with joy, is welcomed by the enthusiastic students. Rabiška can add to his book that a student has not only a soul, but a heart as well.