- Orphaned northern girl moves to Helsinki to stay with a distant relative Mauri Teräs, who has been appointed her guardian. She irritates, amuses, and charms Mauri, who is used to socializing, and his bachelor friends.
- Orvo Saarikivi's romantic comedy Poikamiesten holhokki (1938) is based on a novel by Denys Aston (pseudonym of the writer Inkeri Relander). Orphaned northern girl Katariina Malmi travels to Helsinki to stay with a distant relative, missionary Mauri Teräs, who has been appointed her guardian. The unpretentious child irritates, amuses, and charms Mauri, who is used to socializing, and his bachelor friends.
- After her father's death, 18-year-old Katariina, or Kati Malmi, travels to Helsinki, where her father has appointed Mauri Teres, a distant maternal relative, a so-called minister, as the orphan girl's guardian. Kati, who grew up among the Northern boys, enjoys the company of men and already surprises her fellow passengers on the train with her charming manner. In Mauri's elegant apartment, Kati is greeted by a "bachelor club", which, alongside Mauri, includes Baron Klaus von Bartel and horse master Osmo Neva, as well as doctor Olli Parmas. Mauri is twitchy and sees her as a disturbance, but the other men are delighted by her outspoken manner and decide to take her on as their joint ward.
At night, Kati dreams of her former life and in the morning she confounds the whole household by getting up early and going for a ride on Master Boy, a horse Mauri has reserved exclusively for himself. On her return, Kati borrows money from her companion, Mauri's chauffeur Jaska, and buys Mauri a tie as a present. However, he is angry that she has taken Master Boy and is late for breakfast, and rejects the tie as too ostentatious.
In the evenings, Mauri stays late at meetings and at the home of socialite Helena Suokorpi. Bartel and Neva come to greet Kati, bringing her flowers and chocolates. One evening, Mauri passes on an invitation to Kati to come to Helena's party the next day. Mauri himself doesn't like the idea, but the other men persuade him to take her with him. At the invitations, Kati attracts attention with her outspokenness and rustic dress. Helena thinks she is a "sweet child of nature in need of refinement" and suggests to Mauri that she be sent to France to be educated. Kati is offended, and at home Mauri tries in vain to comfort the crying girl.
In the morning, Kati packs her bags and runs away from Mauri, posting a letter in which she laments her role as a penniless ward and says she has escaped 'the French prison'. On the bus, Kati meets Maija Taipale, who takes her in to live with her in Porvoo and gets her a job as a salesgirl in a shoe shop. In Helsinki, the men are distressed by Kati's disappearance and ask the police and the Red Cross for her. Bartel goes on a search and finds Kati in a shoe shop, where the other salesgirls have treated the inexperienced girl with contempt. Bartel tries in vain to persuade Kat to return, but he also fails to reveal her whereabouts to the others. However, Mauri finds out about it from a letter Kati has sent to Jaska to pay her debts.
Mauri goes to see Kati himself, who remains adamant: "It's exciting and educational to be on your own," she says, justifying her decision. Bartel convinces the suspicious Mauri that Kati loves only him, and takes action: he calls Neva and Parmas to come with him and gets Jaska to drive them to Porvoo. At the shoe shop, they all buy five pairs of shoes of their choice and catch Kati outside, carrying boxes of shoes in her car. "Do you love shoe-boxes more than the guardianship?", a delighted Mauri asks when he sees Kati returning with the men. No longer hiding her feelings, Kati bends into his embrace. Before the kiss that seals their life together, Mauri answers her question of whether he will take her home: 'On one condition - that you don't stay here as a ward, but as a guardian'.
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By what name was Poikamiesten holhokki (1938) officially released in Canada in English?
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