Tragödie der Liebe (1923)

Countess Manon Moreau’s husband is found murdered. A certain André Rabatin, who belongs to the same club as the late Count Moreau once did, is suspected of committing the bloody crime. Rabatin, a gentleman of the old school, insists to the widow that he is innocent and claims that the Count’s death must have been a tragic accident. In time, Manon begins to fall in love with the suspect, Rabatin, since she cannot believe him capable of such a brutal act of violence. But her budding relationship with Rabatin makes her a suspect in her husband’s murder as well, and an investigation into her begins. Another murder takes place; this time, Count Moreau’s servant, Jean, is killed violently. Is there a connection? The culprit is soon found: it is the wrestler Ombrade, a hulking man who is not particularly bright. Jean was in the wrong place at the wrong time, caught in the crossfire when Ombrade tried to stop his lover, Musette, from having a tête-à-tête with the Count. Musette is a shameless woman who toys with men and knows exactly how to use them to further her own aims. In the two murder trials that follow, André Rabatin and Ombrade are found guilty and sentenced to hard labor. Countess Moreau leaves the courtroom a free woman. Ten years later, Countess Manon Moreau returns to Paris after a long absence, to the place where the tragedy began. After her husband’s murder and the conviction of her new lover, Rabatin, she had left the city. Manon has had a young daughter named Kitty, who lives with her grandmother. Manon travels to Paris to bring the child to live with her, but the grandmother wants to prevent this. One day, an unexpected family reunion takes place: Manon, Kitty, and André Rabatin, now released from prison, meet. Manon is horrified to discover that André and Kitty have fallen in love. She visits Rabatin at his apartment and earnestly begs him to keep his hands off Kitty, fearing that he might also drag the young woman into the whirlpool of their two unhappy lives. The brutal Ombrade has also since been released from prison. He is still under the baleful influence of the manipulative Musette, who makes him jealous of Rabatin. Beside himself with rage, Ombrade breaks into Rabatin’s apartment and kills André in a scuffle. Once again, Countess Manon is suspected of murder, but the police investigation once more establishes her innocence. Manon and Kitty can finally plan their lives together as mother and daughter.