Struggling Parisian actor Maurice Kurtz is passionately in love with his wife Perla and wishes he could provide her with a better life. He earns a meager income dubbing foreign films with the help of his friends. The future begins to look bright when they hear that superstar film director Grichenberg is prepping a big-budget Yiddish version of "The Merchant of Venice". They all show up at a "cattle call" audition hoping to land bit parts.