Die Kaukasierin (1918)

One day, detective Joe Deebs meets Helene, the wife of the engineer Mertens. Shortly afterward, he is able to help her by stopping her precious jewelry from being stolen. Soon after that, he is a guest at the home of Prince Sumalo. There, the sleuth not only exposes a card cheat but also discovers a portrait of a woman who looks exactly like Helene Mertens. When Deebs asks about it, the prince tells him that the woman in the portrait was his former fiancée, who has since died. The portrait and the prince’s story stay on the gentleman detective’s mind, and Deebs continues investigating the matter. Joe Deebs discovers that the fiancée in the portrait, a Caucasian woman, only appeared to have died, though the prince still firmly believes she is dead. In fact, a servant of the prince had once given her a sleeping drug that makes a person appear dead, so that she could escape the prince’s clutches. The Caucasian woman was then buried in the prince’s tomb, but shortly afterward, once she awoke, she was immediately freed. Back among the living, the Caucasian woman and her helper subsequently married. Deebs decides to keep the Caucasian woman’s secret to himself, since Mr. and Mrs. Mertens are a very happy married couple.