Ingrid - Die Geschichte eines Fotomodells (1955)

Two friends, the reporter Robert and the photographer Walter, are at one of the beauty pageants that take place almost everywhere. Walter is friends with Ingrid, who will later win the contest, while Robert attends such pageants just for fun. To do his friend a favor, Robert lets Ingrid tell him her life story the next day, hoping it might make an interesting story. He does not even realize that he has interviewed the young woman before, when she was in a camp after the war, waiting to be taken away from there. As their conversations continue, Ingrid falls in love with Robert. But he has no loving feelings for her at all; he only thinks about how he can turn her charming nature and beauty into money. With his support, Ingrid becomes a sought-after photographic model and mannequin. Only their love makes no progress. They do grow closer, but to Robert, Ingrid is just an affair. He is simply a selfish lover, and she has to deal with her worries alone. When Ingrid confesses one day that she is expecting his child, all he can think of is how to get rid of the problem as quickly as possible. Their relationship with Robert then falls apart, and Ingrid gives birth to their son in a clinic. Walter is a good friend to her during this difficult time and hopes that one day she will respond to his unspoken advances. But then Ingrid meets Robert at a fashion show, as she is working as a mannequin again. Ingrid can easily hide that she still feels affection for Robert, because she has become a different person by now. Now Robert is the one who falls in love with Ingrid, presses for reconciliation, and wants to be with her again. But she is not so easily won over. Only when he takes her to a small new-build apartment, completely embarrassed and modest—unlike his former self—can she get past his past behavior. She realizes that his feelings for her have changed completely, and from then on wants to share the future with her child's father.