The Quack

Professor Wilczur, a distinguished surgeon, is abandoned by his wife Beata and their seven-year-old daughter Marysia. Shortly afterward, he is beaten and robbed, resulting in memory loss. After many years of wandering, he settles in a rural village with a miller and gains fame as a folk healer, helping the local residents. Beata, who raises Marysia alone after leaving her husband, dies from life’s exhaustion. Marysia grows up playing the piano in a provincial cinema and falls in love with Leszek, whose parents initially oppose their relationship. When the young couple is involved in a motorcycle accident, Marysia’s life is saved by the folk healer, who steals the surgical tools needed for the operation. Thanks to the intervention of grateful patients, he is not punished. During a visit to Beata’s grave, Wilczur suddenly regains his memory. The professor returns to work at the hospital, and Marysia is finally able to marry her beloved Leszek.