Frauen, die nicht lieben dürfen (1925)

The young milliner Yvonne leads a respectable, virtuous life and is loved by an equally respectable young man she has known since childhood. Even she, however, is not immune to the temptations of the “sinful big city.” One day, they come to her in the form of Lydia, an aging prostitute who knows how to entice and seduce young, naive girls. Lydia gives this country innocent a complete makeover, intending to turn her into the star attraction of a brothel that has become rather deserted and run-down. Soon the newly opened “salon” is a hotspot for all kinds of pleasure-seekers, and extravagant parties are followed by orgies. Yvonne is its latest attraction: during the wild revels, she is positioned and posed as the fairest of the girls on a rotating centerpiece, arousing the customers’ lust and sending the establishment’s takings soaring. The elegant, worldly Baron de la Rive, in particular, has his eye on Lydia’s “new acquisition.” Although Yvonne has been drummed into never falling in love on the job, that is exactly what happens when she meets the handsome Gaston Dupont one day. Yvonne flees her workplace, but her old mentor has no intention of simply letting her “best horse in the stable” go, and follows her. Lydia exposes Yvonne’s suitor as a swindler, and the bitterly disappointed girl follows her back to the brothel. Yvonne stays there for a while, but eventually she has had enough for good: she begins to feel disgusted by the lecherous, sleazy men, and to hate and mock her clients. Yvonne sees another escape as the solution to her problems. But her past has made her feel such revulsion toward herself that she goes into the water. She is rescued at the last second. The fallen girl returns to her roots and sinks into the arms of her respectable childhood sweetheart. Through the power of his love, the “fallen woman” will recover in body and soul.