Der Strom (1922)

Peter Dorn, working together with his grandmother, destroyed the will of his recently deceased father in order to cheat his two brothers, Jakob and Heinrich, out of their inheritance. Heinrich then leaves the family home and goes out into the world, while Jakob stays behind and is thereafter deeply unhappy with his life. Only his secret love for his sister-in-law Renate keeps him going, but since she is married to his villainous brother Peter, her presence ultimately makes Jakob feel even more miserable. As master of the dike, Peter Dorn is also responsible for the safety of the river outside his door when it is running with ice, and in such a situation he is once again visited by a delegation inspecting the condition of the dike and the flowing water. For this reason, river engineer Heinrich Dorn also returns to the family home for the first time in twelve years. The reunion between Heinrich and Peter is exceptionally cold and tense. Heinrich tells Renate that she married the wrong Dorn in choosing Peter, for he, too, had always loved her. Renate knows very well that he is right, since she is unhappy at Peter’s side and, moreover, knows about Peter’s schemes concerning the suppression of the will. Only now does she find the strength to leave her unloved husband, and she promises Heinrich that she will go with him. Just as Renate is lying in Heinrich’s arms, Jakob rushes into the room. He is horrified by what he sees and suspects betrayal on all sides. Renate confesses to him the secrets they have kept up to now, whereupon Jakob rushes outside and, in an outburst of uncontrollable rage, tries to punch a hole in the softened dike. Peter learns of his intention and rushes after him. Peter manages to prevent a disastrous breach in the dike, but the river—which once carried away Peter’s children—claims its due again, now sweeping him and his brother Jakob away as well. As their bodies drift off with the water, Heinrich and Renate remain behind, now able to begin a new life together, free of the burdens of the past.