A Jewish tannery worker, Nahum Beychik, invents a machine that makes hard work easier in leather tanning. A private entrepreneur, former kulak Lopatin, tries to buy the invention and use it for his own selfish interests. Having met with a decisive refusal from Nahum Beychik, the kulak exploits the anti-Semitic sentiments of the backward part of the workers and, with the help of his accomplices, hooligans and truants, tries to kill the inventor.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| AA. GeninNahum Beychik, inventor | Nahum Beychik, inventor |
| VVasili BokarevSurkov, master | Surkov, master |
 Kuzma YastrebetskyLopatin | Lopatin |
 Aleksandr DuletovKuzma, Surkov's son | Kuzma, Surkov's son |
 Nikolai AkimovFactory secretary | Factory secretary |
| YYe. BondinaLopatina | Lopatina |
| TT. SokolovskayaNadya | Nadya |
| FF. TarasovWorker | Worker |
| SS. StepanovWorker | Worker |
| VV. Snezhinskaya(uncredited) | (uncredited) |
 Viktor ArkasovWorker (uncredited) | Worker (uncredited) |
 Ivan MutanovWorker (uncredited) | Worker (uncredited) |