Aschermittwoch (1925)

Germany in the imperial era. The young Lieutenant Jochen Harrach loves his cousin Jutta, who is under the guardianship of a somewhat disreputable man-about-town named Lamond. His house in Cologne is a veritable gambling den. For this reason, Colonel von Harzer, the commander of a regiment, has strictly forbidden his officers to enter the house. Since Lieutenant Harrach is now trying to rescue his beloved from this environment, he has no choice but to circumvent his superior’s order: Lamond vehemently opposes his ward’s union with the dashing, carefree lieutenant. During his visit, Jochen is tempted to gamble as well and loses a considerable sum of money. In accordance with his strict code of honor, the lieutenant feels compelled to shoot himself. He intends to take this final step in his life on the approaching Ash Wednesday. He is determined to spend his last evening enjoying a carnival ball. It is there, of all places, that Jochen encounters Jutta, who has come with his sister Thea. Thea is engaged to a factory owner who, as she suspects, is not entirely faithful. The elegant gentleman has a letter from a somewhat disreputable dancer in his possession. Thea, too, intends to keep an eye on her fiancé at the carnival ball and perhaps catch him in the act of being unfaithful. At the party, she meets the shady Lamond, who lures her to his apartment in order to rape her. But Thea knows how to defend herself: she grabs a revolver and appears to shoot the lecher dead. Lamond dies of his injuries, and several clues found at the scene point to both Jochen and Thea having been there, whereupon the siblings are to be arrested for murder. The police arrive too late for Jochen; he has shot himself as planned. Thea turns out to be innocent, because her gun was not loaded at all. It emerges that, at the moment she pulled the trigger, the dancer, who had been lying in wait, had shot Lamond in the back. The killer is none other than Thea’s fiancé’s sister, which explains his connection to her.