Willy Maertens

A young shoemaker is arrested for stealing a small amount of money, and is jailed for fifteen years. Upon his release, he wants to get a permit to get a job and start anew, but finds that without a job he can't get a permit, and without a permit he can't get a job. Ensnared in the absurd net of Prussian bureaucracy, he can't see any way out. That is, until he enters a thrift shop and spots a Prussian officer's uniform that fits him like a second skin...

This German slice-of-life drama is based on a very real postwar dilemma. At the time the film was made, there were over 3000 children living in Germany who'd been fathered by African American GIs. Referred to as "mischlings," these children were often treated as outcasts because of their illegitimacy and skin color. One such mischling is Toxi (played by herself), who is sent to live with her American father when her mother dies. At first, Toxi is welcomed with opened arms, but the father, who already has two children, has neither the time nor the money to care for the girl. Toxi is then bundled off to an orphanage, sparking a serious rift in her father's family. By concentrating on a highly fictionalized plotline, Toxi tends to ignore the thousands of other mischlings whose lives are far more complex and tragic than that of the film's central character.

Emil, a technical draftsman, is hardworking, always helpful, and somewhat shy. Because of these traits, he is often taken advantage of by those around him. Now Emil is set to inherit a supposedly large fortune. His landlady's brother wants to marry him off to one of his relatives. But soon panic and confusion set in. The inheritance consists of three full-grown lions.

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The film depicts the first month of 1945 when the Russian Red Army broke into the eastern part of Germany and forced millions of civilians to flee in the coldest of winter. While the Russians invaded Ostpreussen hundred of thousands of civilians were evacuated by ships. Gotenhafen was the last open port and ships left the town almost by the minute, overloaded by refugees. One of the last ships to leave Gotenhafen was the 'Wilhelm Gustloff', a former 'Kraft durch Freude' pleasure cruiser designed for 1000 passengers. Until today it is unknown how many people were on board but it is said to be around 10.000. The ship sunk without a trace and only a handful of people survived this hellish nightmare.

In 1815 Vienna, a corsetmaker falls in love with a valet.

Eberhard Dobermann is a widower and a policeman who loves to control the roads and let people pay fines. Even with his neighbour and friend Jutta Schmalbach he has no pity. Thus he cannot understand why his daughter Karin just falls in love with a racing pilot called Walter. But it gets even worse when Eberhard wins a VW-Kaefer at the annual police party. So he has to learn to drive and thus even brings his teacher close to a heart attack.

An apple juice producer can't decide between his wife and his secretary and tries to commit suicide. Being committed to psychiatry, he falls asleep and dreams of adventures as Adam and Eve in heaven and hell.

German sailor Peter Hille arrives in Copenhagen to see his beloved Hannah. But she has died in childbirth, leaving Peter with an eight-month-old baby. The young father is left with the entire burden of caring for the child. But he would never have been able to cope with his worries if the ordinary people he encounters had not helped him.

While perusing a police photo, Hilde - an investigative reporter - recognizes a bracelet that she once owned while living in her native Romania. She seeks out the current owner of the bracelet, hoping that he can provide information concerning her long-lost father. Thus begins a curious chain of events...

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A teenage girl is stranded by a storm on a small North Sea island, where she and a young teacher fall in love and conceive a child. Back on the mainland, with help from her aunt and a family doctor, she gives birth and returns to finish school, unaware that the teacher has become her colleague and is now engaged. Faced with social stigma and personal conflict, she conceals her motherhood until the truth emerges, leading both to acknowledge their relationship and their child.

Jeanine, her husband Alexis and Renato are the stars of the Varieté Royal under the name “The 3 Loopings”. A blindfolded somersault performed for the first time catapulted the three even higher in the audience’s favour. Jeanine repeatedly has problems with Renato, who has fallen in love her…

When the wife of Sebastian Schumann left her family, he told his little daughter that her mother has died, because he thought that this was the easiest way for her to accept that her mother is now gone. But this was only the beginning of a lot of lies he tells her continuously, mostly about himself and his job. This way he also tries to hide away from her the fact that he had to quit his job as a traveler and is now paid much less than before.

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The young veterinarian Dr. Vlimmen settles in a small town on the North Sea coast. When he reports the conditions in the local slaughterhouse as cruelty to animals, he makes an enemy of the influential butcher van Heusden, who launches a smear campaign against him. Vlimmen is only supported by his sister Truus and his friend, lawyer Dacka, who loves Truus. In the end, Vlimmen succeeds in clearing his name. Through a daring operation, he regains his reputation and also finds Nel, the daughter of councillor van der Kalk.

Hamburg, shortly after the Second World War. On the Reeperbahn, a former overseas captain, who keeps his head above water as a stoker, meets a desperate and lonely woman whose marriage has been destroyed by the war. Without knowing much about each other, the two seek brief happiness and oblivion in a night of love, are separated by a raid and find each other again - this time for good.

Dr. Danwitz is a dedicated physician. The assistant doctor works practically day and night on a research project, but without pay. His wife Edith earns the necessary extra money as a model. That's why her pregnancy is a financial disaster for the young couple. Then a wealthy woman asks Dr. Danwitz to perform an illegal abortion, for which she would pay well. The doctor has to make a difficult decision.

Anny arrives in Munich to start a career as an actress, but soon ends up without money and job, sleeping on a park bench. When the police picks her up, she pretends to have amnesia and is taken to the police station. There she's surprised to get presented to her alleged parents. Not knowing yet what kind of game they play, she goes home with them and lets the rich couple coddle her.