In his film version, Curt Goetz shifts the focus away from the poetic output towards the young Friedrich Schiller himself: on the misery of his soul whilst a pupil of the ducal military academy, his opposition to the strict physical drill and the narrow intellectual confines of the "Karlsschule", his juvenile passion for the works of Shakespeare, Klopstock and Lessing, his anger at unjust authorities, his devotion to women, and finally his inability to cope with financial matters

Mother Wolffen, a washerwoman, is a woman of principle: A poor man must do what he must to get through life, only he mustn't get caught doing it. All sorts of crooked deals contribute to the improvement of the daily menu and the increase of household funds. When everyone is searching for pensioner Krueger's missing beaverskin coat, Mother Wolffen and her family are calmly enjoying fresh roast venison.

For the corpulent nobleman Sir John Falstaff, the inn in the small English town of Windsor is the best of all places. Here he can indulge in excessive dining and intemperate drinking, as well as swagger and boast about his adventures, particularly those of an amorous nature. At present, he has designs on the two young women, Mistress Reich and Fluth, who, in turn, lead the paunchy protagonist mightily by the nose.

Two rich men decide that their son and daughter will marry when they're grown. Now, as adults, the fathers decide the two should meet. It doesn't go quite as planned due to the mischievous ways of the daughter.