A countess loves her brother's Prussian-officer friend in the 1919 Baltic area.
The story follows two simple as well as incorrigible petty crooks, who always fail spectacularly in search of the big coup.
Dr. Kurt Weimar, a busy divorce lawyer and ladies' darling, has successfully divorced the well-known chanson singer Ramona. As a thank you, she offers him her luxurious country house on Lake Wörthersee for a weekend. So it happens that – unbeknownst to each other – Dr. Kurt Weimar, his attractive colleague Dr. Bettina Hofer, his fun-loving father, his latest flame, her jealous husband, Kurt's cheerful secretary Piffi, and his girlfriend Rita all gather for a cozy weekend at the lakeside villa. The finale at Ramona's house, where they inevitably meet, turns into a furious showdown.
Consul Werle holds a reception in honour of the homecoming of his son Gregers. At the reception, Gregers meets his childhood friend, Hjalmar Ekdal, who is married to Gina, a former maid of the Werle family. Hjalmar is unaware that Werle had an affair with Gina and that their 14-year-old daughter Hedwig is not his child. Gregers moves in with the Ekdals with the intention of allowing unsuspecting Hjalmar and his family to share in the "happiness of truth". Hedwig is entirely devoted to a wild duck, which lives on a pond outside their house. When Hjalmar learns the truth about his daughter, he wants to leave his family. Gregers advises Hedwig to kill the wild duck so that her father, impressed by this sacrifice, will return home. On the following day, Hedwig's birthday, she doesn't shoot the duck, but shoots herself instead.
In the heirs, the friendship ends, as is well known - especially if the illegitimate scion of a count is to come unexpectedly to a million-fortune. In a bitter inheritance dispute, Paula Dennstein and Therese Schwarz are the lawyers of the parties to the dispute, who at eye level deliver a sophisticated exchange of blows and outdo each other in bluffing. While the idealistic career starter leaves no stone unturned to help her client to his rights, the lavish legal advocate of the noble family must prevent the family's reputation from getting under the wheels.
Frivolous Senta is thrown out of her residence for a reason later explained. Owning just a suitcase and the clothes on her back (a raincoat) she decides to hitch a ride. To help achieve her goal she flashes her naked body to an unsuspecting driver, who crashes his car in disbelief. This little stunt lands her in court, but since she has no money to pay for the damages she is sentenced to... write down her memoirs! Inspired by classic erotic literature, Senta's writings predominantly feature her past sexual encounters - presented as flashbacks - up to the point which led her into court.
Vienna, 1937, on the eve of the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany. The young and inexperienced Franz Huchel begins to learn about both the joys and hardships of life by working as an apprentice to the mutilated war veteran Otto Trsnjek in a small tobacco shop, where he meets the famous psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, a regular customer, who will become a valuable friend in times of chaos and uncertainty.
D'Artagnan travels to Paris hoping to become a musketeer, one of the French king's elite bodyguards, only to discover that the corps has been disbanded by conniving Cardinal Richelieu, who secretly hopes to usurp the throne. Fortunately, Athos, Porthos and Aramis have refused to lay down their weapons and continue to protect their king. D'Artagnan joins with the rogues to expose Richelieu's plot against the crown.
Burgtheater recording, based on Shakespeare's play.
