Two brothers follow very different paths after an accident at the factory where they both work.
Hilde Warren, a famous actress, is impregnated by a convicted murderer and becomes plagued by visions of Death. Upon discovering her child is the image of its criminal father, Hilde must decide whether to allow it to live, or to kill it and risk the embrace of Death himself.
Engelein is a comedy of deliberately mistaken identity. If Jesta, a 17-year-old, can play the part of a 12-year-old, her family will gain a large inheritance from a rich uncle from Chicago. Her unruly “play-acting” for the uncle is preceded by an earlier incident in the film that results in Jesta being evicted from her girl’s school. Wearing a long, woman’s skirt, she climbs up a ladder and onto a thatched roof. She reaches over the top of the wall to kiss her boyfriend, who appears from the other side. However, Jesta is caught by the headmistress, and her forced descent is precipitous. Pulled downward, she reveals a great deal of a black-stockinged leg. She looks distinctly sexual as she falls into the matrimonly arms of the law, whose duty is to enforce the rules of female decorum.
Mary and Eva are best friends, although they couldn't be more different. Armand, Mary's fiancee, falls in love with the seductive Eva, who is busy becoming a revue star. When Eva fails and loses her money, Armand tries to help her out.
About a gypsy who earns a living as a dancer in cheap barracks. Homeless, her performance is documented by a young and talented but largely unsuccessful composer. Before he dies, he leaves the gypsy dancer his artistic legacy, a previously unpublished composition. A little later, she becomes the wife of the orchestra leader, who completes the unfinished composition and wants to gain the sole glory for it.