Vasco Leitão, a medical student in Lisbon, is supported by a generous allowance from his two rich elderly aunts from Trás-os-Montes, Efigénia and Perpétua, whom he had falsely told he had already graduated. In fact, he devotes himself to a bohemian life, preferring the popular fairs and pretty women, especially Alice, a seamstress from the Castelinhos neighbourhood, which rather upsets her ambitious father, Caetano, a tailor who is familiar with Vasco's debts. On the same day he fails his final exam, Vasco is surprised by his aunts' announcement that they will visit him in Lisbon to see his practice. Immediately after arriving in Lisbon, the aunts' bags are stolen and the two elderly ladies faint. Vasco sees himself forced to accept Quinquinhas's suggestion to carry the two unconscious aunts in the carriage announcing an upcoming bullfight; when the aunts come to, they are outraged at the means of conveyance and get cross with Vasco. To soothe their indignation, Vasco asks Caetano for help, and he lies to the aunts, telling them their nephew is an excellent, renowned physician. What Vasco does not know is that Caetano's real interest is the old ladies' large inheritance. Vasco and Alice have a falling out during the Midsummer festival. Meanwhile, at the local recreational society, Caetano single-handedly decides on the outcome of the competition to crown "Miss Castelinhos" so that his daughter Alice can win: the ceremony acts as a musical interlude in which Alce performs a song from a revue, "A Agulha e o Dedal", for all the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. The aunts start getting suspicious and see through Vasco's lies once he cannot show them his surgery and takes them instead to Lisbon Zoo, where he is mixed-up with the Veterinarian. The aunts are ashamed and stop supporting Vasco, and soon start being courted by Caetano and the local cobbler in a final attempt to get their inheritance. Vasco is saved from misery by his good friend Carlos, who gets him a job earning his living as a fado singer, turning him into something of a local celebrity. This does not deter him from pursuing a career in medicine, and he finally passes his final examinationwith flying colours, regaining the favour of his aunts and winning the hand of Alice in marriage.
An expression that found its way into everyday life in Portugal was Vasco's "There's lot of hats, you fool!". The song "A Agulha e o Dedal", sung by Beatriz Costa, became a household reference.
DVD version
The DVD version was heavily restored, with an additional 3 minutes in length, and a sound and image recovery to match the initial quality.
