Der blaue Nachtfalter (1959)

Julia Martens is released early from prison after 13½ years for good behavior. It has now been 15 years since she was found guilty and convicted of murdering Stefan Owenski. The hard years have taken their toll on Julia. Not only was her husband, Consul Martens, unable to come to terms with what had happened and died a year after Julia’s conviction, but she had also never been able to explain to him the circumstances of her crime. During the Nazi era, Consul Martens worked in the resistance and helped persecuted people escape. Owenski, who knew about this, tried to blackmail Julia with the information and threatened to betray her husband to the authorities. When the two met, they struggled, and a shot was fired. Owenski fell into the water and did not reappear. All Julia has left is her now-grown son, Thomas. During a visit to her mother-in-law, who raised Thomas, Julia learns that he was told his mother had died long ago. The elderly Mrs. Martens makes it clear to Julia that this is better for Thomas, who will one day take over his father’s factory. His path would be much harder with a former prisoner as his mother. When Dr. Frahm, the family lawyer, offers her at least some financial assistance, Julia’s pride prevents her from accepting it. Bitterly, she leaves forever the house where she was once so happy. The time that follows is not easy, since Julia, once a celebrated opera singer, has to earn money to support herself. As she visits various talent agencies, she discovers how quickly people forget. No one remembers the star who was once so famous. At last, she finds work at the Blue Moth, where she can perform as a chanson singer. By chance, Julia’s son Thomas meets an attractive young dancer, Irina, when his car breaks down. She happens to perform at the Blue Moth as well, making her Julia’s colleague. The young man falls in love with Irina and often visits her in her dressing room at work. These brief moments when Julia can see her son mean a great deal to her. Through their conversations, Thomas too comes to appreciate this impressive woman. Of course, he does not know that Julia, who performs under the stage name Moralto, is his mother. Irina has a manager named Steve Owens, who bullies her ruthlessly. He repeatedly demands money from the young woman and does not hesitate to use physical violence to enforce his demands. One day, by chance, he gets hold of Thomas’s briefcase, which Thomas left behind in Irina’s dressing room during a visit. It contains sensitive business documents that Thomas was supposed to take to Zurich the next day. Always on the lookout for money, Owens recognizes the value of the papers and plans to sell them to the Martens Works’ competitor. The missing briefcase leads to an argument between the young couple, which Julia overhears from the next-door dressing room. Suddenly she realizes who this Steve Owens is—Stefan Owenski, the man she was supposed to have shot, is alive. Thomas has meanwhile gone to Owens and demanded that he return the stolen papers. A fierce argument between the two men ends with Thomas being knocked down by Owens and losing consciousness. Owens is about to strike the helpless man on the floor with a bronze candlestick when Julia appears in the terrace doorway. She has learned from Irina where Thomas was going and is afraid for her son, because she knows better than anyone how ruthless this man is. When she sees a revolver lying at her feet, she reacts without thinking: she picks it up and shoots the man who is about to kill her son. With Thomas unconscious and not knowing how badly he is hurt, she staggers outside to get an ambulance, but is so overwhelmed by the situation that she loses consciousness. By the time she comes to in the hospital, a considerable amount of time has passed. She had driven her car into a canal. Julia therefore does not know that her son has meanwhile been arrested and charged with Owens’s murder. She learns about it almost by chance, from a newspaper that falls into her hands. She knows immediately what she must do. She has to testify in court and save her son from suffering a fate like hers. Her testimony not only impresses the judge but also opens Thomas’s eyes: only now does he learn that Julia is his mother. He is deeply moved by this extraordinary woman and happy to have a mother after all. Naturally, the charges against him are dropped, and mother and son leave the courtroom as free people.