Frauenschicksale (1952)

The sleazy West Berliner Conny Lohmüller—smart suit, smart shoes (as it later turns out, from state-owned production), pomade in his hair, and a little Menjou mustache—goes after women, preferably in East Berlin cafés. There he can play the worldly conversationalist and be generous, because beforehand he has been able to exchange his West German money advantageously on the black market. He is a womanizer who manages to charm four women, shamelessly exploiting them and bringing each of them to grief in turn. One narrowly escapes a fatal traffic accident; another has his child; Renate Ludwig steals for love of him and becomes an accomplice in a death. She repeatedly stands outside a West Berlin boutique window, longing for a designer dress she will never be able to afford. After a series of tragic complications, she finds her home in East Berlin, her gaze fixed firmly on the building of socialism. Two years later, she does get that model dress after all—from state-owned production.