Gustav Hartmann is in trouble. Because of the new taxis he doesn't get many passengers in his horse-drawn carriage. To prove what he and his horse are capable of, he starts a trip from Berlin to Paris.

Lavish adaptation of Wilhelm Hauff′s fairy tale: Young charburner Peter Munk dreams of joining the upper class. He makes a deal with the sinister Holländer-Michel, who offers to trade Peter′s human heart for one made of stone. Once he has the "cold heart" in his body, Peter eventually strikes a fortune and enjoys great wealth, but at the same time, he becomes a bitter and emotionless man – and, having lost all traces of humanity, even murders his wife Lisbeth. Only then does Peter Munk finally realize what has become of him, and he decides to regain his real heart from Holländer-Michel.

Hanna Amon and her brother Thomas live on an estate they've inherited from their parents. Local veterinarian Brunner loves Hanna from afar, and Thomas is in love with the daughter of the local mayor. Love, however, doesn't always mean happiness, as both Hanna and Thomas are soon to find out.

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.

Landowner Kurt Redwitz lost his wife early and has to raise his two sons Lutz and Lütte, who always like to paint, alone. When Redwitz hires the young pretty Bettina as an educator, everyone is enthusiastic about her. Especially the two boys love them hotly and intimately and from now on even show impeccable behavior. Only the strict housekeeper Mrs. Suhrmöller is jealous and tells Redwitz about the gossip in the village, which says that Bettina only planned to become Redwitz's wife. Redwitz then dismisses Mrs. Suhrmöller. But when Bettina finds out about it, she leaves the property and accepts a job as a social lady in the recreation home "Schloss Sorgenfrei". Now Redwitz slowly realizes what he feels for Bettina, and his sons try everything to bring the father and the educator together.

In the Danish port city of Belgesund, the caretaker of a private high school has fallen victim to murder. Detective Thomsen takes on the case and finds that behind the clean facade there are abysses. He has five suspects in mind: the teacher Berling, who is having a relationship with a student, the twin brother and sole heir of the murdered man, the murdered man's shady roommate, the primary school teacher Klaus Erikson and his brother Jakob.

Combining documentary elements with a playful narrative, the film explores the evolution of bathing culture and social morals in Germany. Set in a summer resort where traditional values clash with more liberal attitudes, it humorously reflects on changing views of decency, freedom, and modern life.