In this melodrama, an elderly thespian falls for a rising young starlet. He admits his love for her and then announces that he will retire from the stage. The young woman pretends she loves him too, but her real motive is to give her struggling lover, also an aspiring actor, a break. The old actor learns the painful truth and though wounded, understands that the relationship would never have worked. When the young actor attempts to end his life, following the loss of his job at the Burg Theatre, it is the elderly actor who saves him.

They say there's no fool like an old fool, and Werner Krauss certainly does make a fool of himself in this classic film, believing that a young, attractive girl could actually love him, unaware that she is in love with a handsome young actor just hired by the prestigious Burgtheater.
Hans Moser in an elegantly played supporting role.