Gassenhauer (1931)

Berlin at the beginning of the 20th century. The five members of a singing group live in poverty, renting rooms in a run-down tenement building. When the building manager is murdered, Peter and Paul, both members of the group, come under suspicion. When they return from a performance, the police are already waiting to arrest them both and take them in for questioning. Since the investigators consider Paul the likelier culprit, he is arrested immediately. But his friend Peter knows Paul is innocent and cannot let him be arrested, partly because he knows how deeply Marie, a mutual acquaintance, cares for Paul. Convinced of Paul’s innocence and believing that everything will work out and the truth will come to light, Peter files a police report against himself, claiming that he killed the building manager. This takes his friend Paul out of the police’s sights for the time being, while Peter goes to prison in his place. In the meantime, the four remaining members of the singing group are offered an engagement at a dance hall, where they can perform for an audience, showing off their talent for imitating various musical instruments using only their voices. Before long, they have amassed a considerable fortune and are able to leave their poor lodgings. In prison, Peter takes advantage of an opportunity to attempt an escape. After getting out, he meets up with Marie, who had previously managed the singing group. The police have not been entirely idle in the meantime: from the outset, the criminal investigator had serious doubts about Paul’s confession. By now, he has identified the real culprit.