After many years in Africa, a man returns to his village in East Prussia to marry his intended bride. However, he finds himself drawn to another girl and contemplates running away with her.
A young country woman in Paris is temporarily drawn to her married, middle aged art teacher before she realizes she belongs instead with people her own age.
A farm boy betrothed to a socialite falls in love with his maid - an impoverished girl from the marsh.
The young farmer Hinnerk has managed to make something of his estate thanks to the help of his servant Hannes; only his household budget is a mess. One day, Hinnerk notices a pretty young girl at the rail station and immediately recognizes that it’s his childhood friend, Ilske Roehling. But when he makes a play for her, she tells him to take a long walk off a very short pier. At a dance party at the Bakenhus Inn, he sees her again and manages to get into a fight with the innkeeper. Worse still, he kidnaps Ilske in his car; takes her to his farm; and tries to force her to consent to marriage.
The daughter of a reclusive couple in the St. Moritz mountains tends to her brother, disabled from the Great War, though a handsome young architect who has just arrived waits for her attentions.
Bernd Flor, an aging, but still very attractive, actor feels most at home playing the role of the tireless Don Juan in his private life. He's already been married six times and had left all six women, although the marriages were in no way unhappy. On the contrary: he is still on very good terms with all his ex-wives; especially with his first ex-wife, Katharina. Flor also has a grown-up son by her, Lukas, who is becoming increasingly critical of his fathers behavior with every passing year.
Dr. Ivar Andersson, introduced by his colleague, Sigrid Mall, is the new German teacher for the underclassmen in a girl’s high school. As is to be expected, there’s soon a whole swarm of girls vying for his attention, but none as much as Kerstin Dahlberg, who lives with her Aunt Betty. Andersson is more than aware of the girl’s feelings for him and it pains his conscience to discover, he’s as hot for her as she is for him. He tells Sigrid about the situation, who strongly recommends separation, but Andersson rejects this as desertion.
The Termoehlens belong to the old farming class in Flanders. Their estate does well and their flax is the best far and wide. And as is the custom, old Termoehlen is like a ruler over his family, the servants and the maidens. Even his son Ludwig, who has just returned from agricultural school with all his ideas on how to improve the farm, doesn’t stand a chance. When Ludwig falls in love with the maiden Rieneke – known as Schellebelle – his father become a despotic enemy.
The successful writer Erich Eckberg lives with his wife Sigrid and their three children -- the twins, Knut and Michael and the daughter Gabriel -- on their estate "Sophienlund". On their sons' 21st birthday, Eckberg tells them the great family secret: Knut and Michael aren't his children (happy birthday, kids ... oh! and did I mention Santa Claus doesn't exist either?). But thankfully, the news gets better: their real mother died giving birth to them (guilt trip ... guilt trip!) and the Eckbergs decided to adopt the boys and bring them up in a proper family (no doubt so they could shatter their lives with this tale on their 21st birthday). But hey: it made everyone forget about the War going on outside the theatre, right?
A horse trader from Berlin, once a farmer in Southwest Africa, manages to drive his children out of the house and anger his wife. After serious complications with his heart, which he tried to hide at first, he realizes how much he needs the love and support of his family. The oldest son returns from Argentina and proves his abilities.
Teresa is a young, always cheerful woman, who has a harmonious marriage with the writer Peter Duhren. Unfortunately, it’s so harmonious, that he’s uncapable of writing a novel. So he decides instead to write a book about his own marriage. Teresa is so horrified about this indiscretion, that she asks for a divorce. Peter is prepared to withdraw the book from circulation to save his marriage, but when he finally is about to do so, it becomes a bestseller. Despite attempts at reconciliation, Teresa leaves his. So much for the alleged ‘harmonious’ marriage.
Dietz' relatives are horrified to discover that Dietz, the son of a wealthy merchant, is planning to marry an actress, who is known to appear in rather daring roles. Dietz finds a way to escape from a gathering over coffee, during which he's supposed to be introduced to "decent ladies". After all, his great love is waiting for him somewhere else.
Silent adaptation of the famous play by Henrik Ibsen. This film is believed to be lost.
The daydreaming tailor Wenzel is fired from his job, because the fancy frock he was supposed to cut for the mayor, he instead made for himself. He is allowed, however, to take the frock, which he appropriated for himself and he puts it on as he leaves the shop. A puppeteer picks him up in his coach and addresses Wenzel as "Count". So is he received in Goldach, where people think he is Count Stroganoff, the ambassador to the Czar of Russia.