Three Fat Men (film)

Plot

In a strange, unnamed city, three greedy rulers known as the Three Fat Men oppress their subjects without mercy. A group of traveling performers—among them the clown Augustus, the acrobat Tibul, and a young girl named Suok—arrive just as a rebellion by local miners begins. Tibul sides with the rebels, but General Karaska’s forces crush the uprising. During the palace’s bombardment, the mechanical doll belonging to the heir, Tutti, is accidentally damaged. This doll is a lifelike replica of a young girl. Meanwhile, the rebel leader Prospero is captured and paraded to the palace as a trophy.

Tibul escapes the soldiers by hiding in the home of the famous scientist Dr. Gaspard Arneri, who gives him a disguise. That same night, the doctor is called to the palace to fix the broken doll. He is sent home with the doll under heavy guard, but rebels attack the carriage, mistaking the doctor for an important official. The horses panic and run off with the carriage and the doll. While searching for the lost doll, Dr. Arneri stumbles upon Augustus’s caravan and reunites with Tibul. They realize Suok looks almost exactly like the doll. Tibul comes up with a plan: Suok will pretend to be the repaired doll and sneak into the palace.

Suok, acting as the doll, is brought to Tutti’s room. The lonely boy discovers she is real but decides not to give her away. Suok steals the key to the royal prison and frees Prospero. However, her trick is exposed when the actual doll is found elsewhere. Suok and Dr. Arneri are arrested and sentenced to death. Just before the execution, Tibul and the rebels use an underground tunnel to enter the palace, starting a second revolt that topples the Three Fat Men. Tutti is hurt while defending Suok and learns that his heart is real, not mechanical as he had been told. Suok and Dr. Arneri are rescued. The performers hold a huge concert in the city square to celebrate their victory. Finally, the performers leave in their caravan, and Tutti joins them for a new life on the road.