Mälarpirater (1923)

Already orphaned of their mother, sixteen-year-old Georg and eleven-year-old Erik lose their father and are adopted by their uncle Konrad, the mayor of the small village, whose sour-tempered wife is not at all keen to take on the role of stepmother. When the summer holidays begin, the boys feel stifled, and, at the suggestion of Fabian, a mischievous boy and the poor son of a chimney sweep, they run away from home to go boating and enjoy a little freedom. Swept up in the adventure, the boys are caught in a storm that forces them to take shelter on a beach. As fate would have it, the same bad weather breaks the moorings of the magnificent sailing boat Windrosen, owned by the wealthy Vindqvist, and drives it ashore right near the boys, who take this as a sign of providence. After three days, with the good weather back and having overcome the difficulties of handling the fine vessel, the boys discover that they have been presumed dead and decide to head into the unknown and enjoy the moment. Georg is worried only about the lovely Rose, whom he is in love with, but then, taking charge, he sets off on an adventure that soon turns them into wanted pirates—all because of the incorrigible Fabian's misdeeds. Near Tollerö, while taking a swim, Georg is spotted by Rose, who is vacationing there and is delighted to discover that he is alive. He begs her to keep it secret, but then the three pirates are captured and taken to the castle of the Count of Tollerö, who turns out to be Rose's father. Curious, the girl goes aboard the Windrosen, but when her father arrives too, she hides and is left alone and trapped when the dinghies are taken away. When the Count hears that his daughter is missing, he becomes alarmed, and the boys seize the opportunity to escape. Fabian and Erik reach the boat and flee, leaving Georg behind. After discovering the girl aboard, Fabian comes up with a plan to demand a ransom from the Count in exchange for returning his daughter. A victim of his own wild fantasies, Fabian then sets off in the dinghy for America, just as Georg bravely returns to the boat to rescue the girl and his little brother. Rose returns home, to her father's joy. Realizing that the boys are having problems with their adoptive parents, he offers them jobs at his castle, relieving the mayor and his wife of a burden and thus fulfilling his daughter's wish, as she is in love with Georg.