Gift im Zoo

A completely new life begins for railroad employee Werner Nordhaus when he meets the fascinating variety theater director Karena Rodde. She discovers that Werner is a great dancing talent and is determined to win him over for her theater. Karena wants Werner to give up his life as a train driver and start training as an artist for her in Hamburg - a decision that would turn his life upside down...

A novelty in German post-war history: a young woman becomes mayor in a village. She is efficient and enjoys respect, but soon enough two villagers disagree with her work. In her predecessor, a prominent farmer, she has a bitter enemy. But even her boyhood friend, who wants to marry her as he returns home from captivity, can not accept that his future wife holds such an office.

Carola has been running the family-owned circus alone since her husband’s death, but she suddenly finds herself at odds with her three adult sons who are also performance artists and want to have a say in how the business is run. The family discord leads Carola to turn her back on the circus, leaving the three inexperienced sons in charge. This turn of events forces the family to learn to work together or face bankruptcy.

Students raised under Nazi ideology witness the disintegration of the Third Reich and the realization of those who indoctrinated them that they were wrong.

In the Dutch town of Saardam, Tsar Peter the Great has disguised himself in order to learn the art of ship-building. Another Russian named Peter also works at the wharf, causing a comical case of mistaken identities. Emissaries sent from France and England have difficulty locating the man they are looking for, and the lovely Marie is courted by both Peters. An adaptation of Albert Lortzing's eponymous comic opera (1837).

Early 18th-century Krakow: The poor student Simon works as a travelling musician in order to finance his studies, and the Polish freedom fighter Jan is on the run from Saxon troops. They meet in the carriage of Count Kovalska, where they fall in love with the Count’s daughters Laura and Bronislava.

A gang of thieves plan a hit on a warehouse filled with precious stuff.

Post-war Germany 1945: Two rival gangs of uprooted boys fight each other in the ruins of Berlin, whose business is the black market out of necessity in order to survive. Their respective leaders are Gerhard and Dietrich. A pretty young circus artist named Corona comes to the destroyed city with a traveling circus. She immediately caught the boys' attention. When the latter notice that the circus director is abusing the girl, the two gangs join forces and plot an act of revenge against the tyrant. But with the hustle and bustle caused by this, Corona falls from the trapeze and is seriously injured. When the circus moves on, the boys organize a doctor for the sick artist who has been left behind. Their collectively concern for the blonde beauty makes them forget their enmity. This welds the troops closer together and sets the course for a common, meaningful future.

Househusband Heinz lives with his two brothers Otto and Eduard. When Heinz wins a luxury cruise in a pop song contest, Otto and Eduard don't want to stay at home. The two decide to secretly go along as stowaways...

In the summer of 1946, a group of young people meet on the banks of the Weser; together they take a boat to Bremen. Their experiences and conversations reflect the mindset of a youth uprooted by war and collapse, yet lead to the realization that one should not simply drift along.