Drei Tage Mittelarrest (1930)

Prussia-Germany before 1914. Much to Mayor Hoffmann’s displeasure, the hitherto sleepy little town of Flowinkel has been a garrison town for a year. Hoffmann and the brisk, no-nonsense Battalion Commander von Faber often clash, because the mayor has little regard for military pomp, while the status-conscious Faber threatens to eclipse him as Flowinkel’s most important person. Making matters worse, von Faber’s soldiers would rather chase after women than focus on drill. Faber and Hoffmann are evenly matched; everyday life between the two power-conscious men is governed by barbs and petty feuds. The situation threatens to escalate when a rumor spreads that Hoffmann’s housemaid, Auguste, has been made pregnant by one of Faber’s soldiers. The mayor is boiling with rage and is determined to identify the father-to-be. He demands that Auguste be confronted with all the recruits and officers. But the culprit himself, a soldier named Max Plettke, avoids this extremely embarrassing confrontation by feigning illness. When this comes to light, the attractive young fusilier receives the film’s titular three days’ arrest for “cowardice in the face of the enemy.” Major von Faber then plots his revenge: he immediately forbids his men from having any contact with the village’s female population, leaving Flowinkel “without men” and depriving the women of the pleasure of an occasional dance with the dashing officers. The town’s women then begin making life hell for Mayor Hoffmann. The innkeepers join in, too, since the taverns are empty because of the boycott and sales of beer and wine have plummeted. Adelheid, the mayor’s wife, who herself comes from an officers’ family, eventually tries to mediate and restore peace. She organizes a town festival where everyone is supposed to make peace with one another. Auguste is lucky, too: she finally finds the right man, with whom she plans to build a life together and raise her unborn child, since he has stood faithfully and steadfastly by her throughout this time.