Catherine Hubscher, who washes the shirts of young Napoleon and other soldiers fighting the Revolution, falls in love with Sergeant Lefebvre. Circumstances bring Lefebvre a noble title and even more -- Napoleon decides to make him the local ruler over a large territorial fiefdom. But trouble brews when Madame Sans-Gene, now elevated to the nobility along with her man -- cannot keep her frank observations under control.
As in the novel of the same title from Camilo Jose Cela, "La Colmena" is a sad composition with the stories of many people in the Madrid of 1942, just the postwar of the spanish civil war. The main theme of the film is the contrast between the poets, surviving close to misery under the Franco's regime, and the winners of the war, the emerging class of the people that makes easy money with illegal business.
Cayetana, her boyfriend Paco and Venancio, her foster brother, commit small thefts and, from time to time, spend a few days in jail. Until they meet with Federico, a thief who has traveled abroad and convince them that using European methods success is guaranteed. Paco then decides to act scientifically and seizes a hospital surgical equipment. When they want to realize, poor Venancio is forced to give an injection to a dentistry patient and, even worse, Paco has to pull out a tooth. And all that, before entering the operating room
Carlos, a widower in his forties, lives with his daughter Lolita and his sister Merche. He is a candidate to Spanish Court's Proctor, so frequently travels outside Madrid. During one of those trips, he is forced to return at home precipitously, because his sister informed him that Lolita has left the house to live with some friends.
Julio and Timoteo operate a private detective agency that specializes in cases relating to partners who cheat on their spouses.
A German scientist takes refuge in an unnamed South American country, and finishes the development of a weapon of mass destruction. Lesky, is assistant, is paid by a Chinese spy ring to abduct the scientist, and appropriate the weapon. Super agent Z7's mission is to find them and prevent that, which he does - at a cost of a number of lives.
The frog test confirms Julita is pregnant. This is usually a great news. In this case, no. She is a victim of premarital sex, and he, Paco, a mechanic who, according to some theories of French biologist, explained by a podiatrist friend, will not be liable. Don Ramiro, the father of Julia, is a liberal-minded man, but when his daughter tells him that she will have a son who will not parent, seeking the solution of fatherhood in his gun regulation.
In 1916, while Europe was in the middle of First World War and Spain was enjoying the advantages of being a neutral country, eroticism was called voluptuousness and Senator Duke of Daroca, despite his ancient lineage, fell completely in love with a famous cabaret singer, Rosario "La Criollita", which was a scandal. At that time, it was doubted that decent women had legs - But this mystery was resolved a decade later, when the roaring twenties arrived and, with them, the sensual Lupe Cardoso
Juana and Francisca are serving at the Stevens house, an American couple. Both of them have a boyfriend, one is an egg-carrier and the other is a transporter with his own motorcycle. And both with a totally totalitarian and macho concept regarding male-female relations. The girls also have two American suitors assigned to the American Base of Torrejón, friends of their masters. Thus, without almost pretending, the two girls will find themselves in the midst of the jealous Spaniards and the beefy Yankees.
Bernabe (José Sacristán) works as an artistic director for a publicity firm but his avocation is fawning after his bosses, sleeping with whomever might advance his career, and ignoring his wife. Life continues on in this vein until he meets a young model whom he invites up to his boss's temporarily vacant country house, pretending the house belongs to him. Not very far away, bulldozers and other machinery are clearing the beautifully wooded area so construction can start on an amusement park. Little does Bernabe realize that his potential new conquest is a seriously fanatical environmental advocate, and she arrives at the house with friends, gets Bernabe high and "out of it," and then she and her friends proceed to trash the construction machinery. Once Bernabe comes around again, he finds out what has happened, loses heart for his planned sexual escapade, and begins to appreciate his wife for the first time.
KGB authorities abduct two criminals (Franco and Ciccio) who look exactly like missing spacemen and pretend they are the returning cosmonauts. They launch them in a rocket, so that they can land in public view, leading the populace to believe it was the original space craft that has returned. The two criminals look so much like the astronauts, they even fool the wives of the astronauts. Later however, the original spacecraft returns to Earth undamaged, and the plan goes all to pieces. In the end, Franco and Ciccio stay in Russia and the real astronauts relocate to Italy.
Two penniless Italian buskers want to go to the USA but get on the wrong ship and end up in South America in a concentration camp where they are rescued by American parachutists from. Afterwards they become big shots in the States but their dream comes to an end : they are sent to fight in Vietnam
Four Spanish women of very different origins and motivations work in Paris as handmaids.
Two guys live without working quite well using thousands of tricks and fakes. But they soon change their attitudes when love arrives at their hearts.
Juan does not have a cent but lives beautifully. His nights of revelry and cabaret are famous in the night city environments. As heir to his old and very rich uncle Don Patricio, lives subsidized by creditors on account of his future inheritance. But John keeps a terrible secret: he has long been disinherited. When a telegram arrives announcing the death of the uncle, Juan returns to the family home in the Costa Brava. There he meets Anna, a wonderful woman who is the current heir to the family fortune.
A Spanish insurance company is absorbed by a multinational, so that, in order to modernize, its employees are obliged to carry out some training courses to adapt to the new situation and the new objectives. Given the relevance of what is at stake, the wives of these men will also be involved at work.
