Das schwarz-weiß-rote Himmelbett (1962)

Germany, shortly before 1914. Seventeen-year-old Jean de Wehrt, a student in the upper years of secondary school, is a real rascal. The son of Friedrich de Wehrt, a presiding judge in the Rhineland, has no intention of bowing to the demands of a serious life. Instead, he would much rather head out into the wide world for a while and enjoy life to the full. He gives in to the temptations of the big city and takes up the carefree life of a young bon vivant, whose world consists of theater boxes and the boudoirs of the upper bourgeoisie. After a performance, he meets the seductive actress Germaine, who soon introduces him to the finer points of love. Jean’s aunt Arabelle, who remembers her own youth all too well, understands that the boy wants to sow his wild oats and gives him the pocket money he needs to carry on his affair. The rest of Jean’s family, however, is far from pleased when they learn of the young man’s carefree lifestyle. The head of the family decides to tighten the reins and banish him to a much stricter school in a small town, where the “sinful” temptations are limited. There, under the supervision of the stern Frau Mertens, he is supposed to devote himself entirely to his studies. But one day Jean meets the pretty Frenchwoman Gertrude Forrestier and falls head over heels in love with her. When the couple are caught in an intimate tête-à-tête, Jean is summarily expelled from this school too. To finally bring him to his senses, it is decided that army life will knock the nonsense out of the “young wastrel” once and for all. And so Jean de Wehrt ends up as an officer cadet in the Prussian military. But Aunt Arabelle does her part to save the young love between Jean and Gertrude, offering them a cozy love nest. Then the First World War breaks out…