The film is set in a Galician shtetl before World War I, rich with itinerant performers and star-crossed lovers.
He eventually finds a job in the shoemakers shop of Reb Nachum, where he meets Esther, the daughter of the house.
Esther's father inherits a large sum of money; he abandons his shoe-making trade, puts on airs, and tries to marry her to Yossel, the son of a prominent family.
But Getzel, who plays the King, tells the family the truth of how money has spoiled Reb Nachum, and is ordered to leave the house.
Reb Nuchem accepts the happenings philosophically, saying ‘After all, I still have a clown in the family!’ Amidst the rejoicings, Getzel slips quietly away to resume his travels.