Warsaw. Count Józio Lulewicz, benefiting from his familial fortune, leads an unconcerned lifestyle. One morning, on a way back home with his friends after an overnight party, he breaks a window in a shoe repair shop in the Old Town and runs away. Wacław, Józio’s friend and a composer, is in the middle of writing an operetta, which he wants to stage with a participation of Lolita, his girlfriend who is a singer. She hopes that Józio will finance their new musical theatre. Unfortunately, count’s mother opposes it firmly.

The next day Józio goes to the shoe repair shop to pay for the damage he has done. It turns out that master Kopytkiewicz is looking for an apprentice. Józio passes for a man from the province and gets the job. He believes his mother will give him the money to finance the theatre in order to avoid disgrace. After a few days of work, Józio meets Joanna, owner’s daughter. He falls in love with her straight away. She takes him for a simple, uneducated boy. Each night, she teaches him how to read and write. She does not remain untouched by his affections either.

Count Rzeszotarski, Józio’s uncle, brings him the money from Józio’s mother to finance the theatre. Józio rejects it. He wants to work with the shoe repairer and earn the money on his own. Count Rzeszotarski meets the chairman Żurek-Żurkowski and tells him about his nephew, who became a journeyman to spite his mother. The chairman comes up with an idea to arrange for Józio to marry his daughter Kicia. He goes to the shoe shop to secretly talk with his future son-in-law. He unknowingly invites the wrong Józio - the old journeyman and young Józek’s namesake – to a party, where he constantly makes slips and sparks awkward situations. It does not stop the chairman to announce his daughter’s engagement.

In the meantime, Wacław and Lolita try to convince Lulewicz to accept the money given to him by his mother. Józio, being in love with Joasia, does not want to hear about it. Only an intrigue planned by Wacław brings results. In effect Joasia, who finds out the truth about Józek, does not want to know him. Simultaneously, it turns out that Józio, who is engaged with Kicia, is not a count. Count Rzeszotarski reconciles the feuding couple, Józio gets married with Joanna. A year later, the whole family gets together around a cradle, where their young son Ignaś lies.

Ostatnia polska komedia przedwojenna, zrealizowana latem 1939 roku. Niemieckie władze dopuściły ją na ekrany dopiero dwa lata później, tuż przed świętami Bożego Narodzenia - 23 grudnia 1941 roku. Film nigdy nie miał więc „normalnej” dystrybucji ani recenzji.
Ja tu rządzę jest adaptacją powieści  Romans pani majstrowej, którą Wincenty Rapacki jr., popularny aktor, muzyk i tłumacz, napisał w roku 1926. Scenariusz Emanuela Schlechtera i Ludwika Starskiego pozwolił Mieczysławowi Krawiczowi nakręcić zgrabną komedię romantyczną, z elementami qui pro quo, z udziałem lubianych aktorów – Iny Benity, Zbigniewa Rakowieckiego, Mieczysławy Ćwiklińskiej, Władysława Grabowskiego i Stanisława Sielańskiego. Dodatkową atrakcją jest udział w filmie męskiego kwartetu wokalnego, popularnego chóru Dana. Adam Wysocki, Tadeusz Jasłowski, Tadeusz Bogdanowicz i Mieczysław Ziołowski występują w rolach rozśpiewanych czeladników szewskich.

• Stills

Zbigniew Rakowiecki i Ina Benita