Gengæld

The late 1930s. A young enemployed, unskilled worker walks through the streets of Copenhagen, sustaining himself partly on the dole and free soup-kitchen meals and partly on day-dreams. He spends time at a cemetry studying headstone inscriptions. Mild-mannered and of poetic bent, he understands little of an intellectual friend's advice and shies away from the love of a woman who shares her bed with him.

With sinister intentions, evil sorcerer Noureddin lures the young Aladdin into a dark cave to retrieve an old lamp that doesn't look like anything special. But: When Aladdin rubs it, the genie of the lamp appears and can grant any of his wishes, whether it's the princess or the entire kingdom.

The series follows the residents of an apartment building on Copenhagen's Christianshavn, as they go about their daily lives and challenges. There is Olsen, a mover with an old fashion view of the world, Clausen who runs the local pet shop, Egon the career focused assistant, their wives who work hard to keep their spouses lives together, the young couple Tue and Rikke who recently moved in, the hard working caretaker Meyer, who never puts in to much effort, and of course Emma, the innkeeper of Rottehullet, where all the important decisions are made while running up the bar tab. The series was produced by Nordisk Film for Danmarks Radio TV station between the years 1970-77. The series' first director was Ebbe Langberg, then Erik Balling and Tom Hedegaard respectively. The series was conceived by an author team of well-known Danish authors such Leif Panduro, Benny Andersen, and Lise Nørgaard.

The film begins with Baron von Rosensteen's funeral. As Rosensteen has no heirs, the old Rosensteen Castle is to be inherited by the Rabenfeldt family. Supreme Court Attorney Berg visits the widow baroness about a document found among the papers of her son, the deceased baron. It turns out that the baron had a child out of wedlock with a non-noble woman. The widow baroness and the Supreme Court attorney decide to find the child, as this would mean that an heir to the castle had been found. The child turns out to be a girl named Anne Tofte, who works at a gas station with her uncle Lars Tofte and his colleague Hans Høy. They persuade Anne to live with the baroness for a while, which she is not very keen on. The widow tries to teach Anne to be a fine lady, rather than the tomboyish workshop mechanic her uncle had raised her to be.

The young bank assistant Harald Løve is not particularly suited to sharing his name with the king of beasts. At least, courage and decisiveness have not been his strongest qualities thus far; quite the contrary. Løve is a timid man who is afraid of almost everything and everyone, not least his boss, the arrogant and somewhat eccentric provincial director, bank director Nikolajsen.

Among the residents of the boarding house on Fredhvilevej are Børge Blom, a civil servant, the feisty Nelly Smith, and taxi driver Ib Nielsen. Because their house is to be demolished to make way for a parking lot, they are given 14 days' notice to vacate. Good advice is now hard to come by, and after a fruitless visit to the Ministry of Housing, they agree to resort to unconventional methods—they occupy Louisenborg Castle! Upon arriving at the castle with their belongings, confusion reigns supreme—there is moving chaos, a visit from an Arab prince, plenty of drinks, and love in the corners.

An episodic film with six different stories that are more or less interwoven. A married couple is celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary. The wife wants a chest of drawers. During a trip to the countryside, they pass by the place where the chest of drawers is sold. Dr. Gregersen's wife is pregnant. Meanwhile, the doctor has bought an expensive typewriter. The doctor advertises the typewriter for sale through his friend, and the buyer is none other than the doctor's wife. A couple wants a bigger apartment, they argue and break up. Later, we meet them again, where they have both found work through an advertisement with a rich man as a housekeeper and a driver. A woman wants to sell a pram because she is going to the hospital. Her little son is to be looked after by her sister. The couple who cannot have children have just adopted the little boy's sister and now come to buy the pram.

Opposite Regensen lives the brave and well-off coppersmith Smidt with his equally brave wife and their delightful young daughter Rikke, as well as the three journeymen Madsen, Mikkel and Lars, who, according to old craftsman custom, both eat and stay with the master. When an acquaintance of journeyman Madsen comes to visit, he learns that he is unhappily in love with Rikke, and he promises to help him get in touch with her.

Bastian and Lene are a good couple, as a journalist and press photographer. They take turns to get ideas for how to get a scoop for the magazine "Tit og Lyt". They agree to play husband and wife so that Bastian can get an apartment. Lene is deeply in love with Bastian why she gets their mutual friend Soren to send a man from the housing authority. He says that they most have one child to stay in the apartment.

Liv is a frankly sexual being. She finds herself in a series of sexual relationships with men who, she says, fall too much in love with her and become oppressive. Finally she meets a man who is very much like her, but that brings its own problems.

Hermann works at NATO headquarters in Brussels and is only home on weekends. He is quite a male chauvinist. That is why his wife Merete has not told him that she has pursued a career in the army and become a lieutenant. In Merete's regiment, Senior Sergeant Vasby suspects her of being a spy because of her "mysterious" conversations with NATO. This develops into an amusing spy hunt, and many people get involved. When Hermann is called up again, he "forgets" to tell his wife.

At the Gästhaus "Den Hvide Hest" in the Austrian Alps, romantic entanglements are in full swing. Waiter Leopold is in love with landlady Josepha, who has her eye on charming manufacturer Sigismund, who in turn hits on all women almost as a matter of principle. Klara and Lene also join the battle for the popular manufacturer, while waiter apprentice Mickey would rather just have a goat.

An unreliable lover of women and a hunchbacked clockmaker are suspected of killing a beautiful woman. Only one of them has done it, but whom?

Under the leadership of the authoritative Mrs. Emma, a mediocre theater troupe tours the remote corners of the province. Despite miserable conditions and internal squabbles, the actors keep their spirits up, but for how long?

Mogens Wieth is a songwriter who lives beyond his means. He is expecting to inherit a fortune from his Aunt Tut in Paris, who is old and filthy rich. He has been corresponding with her for many years. In reality, Aunt Tut is dead, and it is her daughter who writes the letters. A young singer who wants to ingratiate himself with the songwriter claims that he knows the aunt and that she is coming to Copenhagen. He has persuaded an older actress to play the role of Aunt Tut. Unfortunately, the aunt's charming daughter also arrives in Copenhagen at the same time, setting the stage for costly episodes and amusing complications...

What would you do if you found 20,000 Danish kroner? Just like that? In a woman's purse? And what if no one was looking for it? In other words, if you had the chance to pocket 20,000 Danish kroner, tax-free? Wouldn't you be tempted? The main character in this film is tempted. He is a taxi driver and has a happy family life, but he is struggling financially.