This is commonly known as Jean Renoir's first American film (1941), although Renoir scholar Alexander Sesonske has established that Renoir's creative role in the project was severely hampered by producer Darryl F. Zanuck and that he didn't regard much of the film as his own. (The ending, for instance, was written by Zanuck and directed by Irving Pichel.) Nevertheless, the film has certain beauties and pleasures. Part of it was shot in Georgia's Okefenokee swamp, and the treatment of the small community living ~Censored~ is often pungent and distinctive.

预科学校若智书院有一群成绩堪忧思想活跃的学生，校董家的谢天（何启南 饰）与谢地兄妹凭借老爸身份，即便留级也不担心学业；绰号水电工的嘉明为人老实，暗恋同学白逸梦（陈松伶 饰），而白逸梦满脑子言情幻想，全然没有留意；李时珍（李丽珍 饰）因为在南太平洋群岛旅游，耽误了开学日，在旅游期间，李时珍结识了香港青年戴运河（陈山河 饰），运河对时珍一见钟情，不顾家人反对退掉美国大学，赶到香港入读若智书院。运河的到来令谢天大为紧张，谢天属意时珍日久，和死党吴成材一直无法打动芳心，但也不能容忍运河插手。校园内一时掀起了一场多角恋爱的争夺……校董面对恶作剧的学生们大为光火，聘请军校老师对书院进行军事化管理，这引发了学生们的空前团结……

清末民初，奉天省的赵家村频现怪事，村中富绅竟因除鼠被民问传说的灰仙降罪，其弟孙耀生为救兄长便祈求参把头老白搭以及村长和一小家丁来福一同上山采参，却怎料五仙降罪的诡事也逐个集齐，直到他们进入那间破败的五仙庙后，真相才随之浮出水……

63 歲的牙技師萩野谷幸三，是個半退休卻全心投入臨演工作的硬漢大叔，本片是他以新人之姿首次主演電影， 他是片中歷史劇「江戶之爪」的背景演員，卻是本片的鏡頭焦點，知名演員通通從主角變成了背景。不料空氣 般存在的臨演都比主角搶戲，際遇一個比一個離奇，他們演得忘情，忘記自己是個臨演，還不小心演得太賣力。