Dich hab' ich geliebt (1929)

Singer Inge Lund scores a great triumph at the gala premiere of a new operetta. Overwhelmed by her success, her stage partner Otto Radney presses his attentions on her and, after a few drinks, becomes her new lover. But shortly afterward, when she meets Dr. Hubert Baumgart, she falls head over heels in love with him. They marry, and the singer gives up her stage career for his sake. But her newlywed husband soon has little time for her, so Inge devotes herself wholeheartedly to their little daughter, Marie, called Mariechen. Inge greatly misses her old life—the stage, the applause, and the limelight. And so one thing leads to another when Otto Radney comes to perform in her city one day. An indiscreet remark by a jealous colleague sparks a rumor that Inge has rekindled her former relationship with her old lover. When her husband hears of it, he demands a divorce. Mariechen is taken from her supposedly adulterous mother and awarded to her father. To support herself, Inge has to work again and tries to re-establish herself in her old profession. But finding a new engagement proves extremely difficult, and she can no longer match her former successes. Inge's roles keep getting smaller, and soon she disappears into the chorus as an ensemble member. When she performs in the city where her ex-husband lives, Inge secretly visits the child who was taken from her, Mariechen. When Baumgart witnesses a moving scene between mother and child, his heart softens, and he seeks reconciliation with his ex-wife.