During the Second World War, in 1943, two French prisoners, François and Michel, escape from Stalag B377 in northern Germany near the Baltic Sea. They meet another escaped compatriot, Pierre, who has donned the uniform of a German officer and joins them. Their goal: to reach neutral Sweden. To get there, they'll have to walk part of the way, then take a train to the coast and, from there, find a way to cross the sea to the shores of Sweden.
A couple who have escaped from the Baltics to Copenhagen are pursued by a KGB officer.
Kjeld Petersen plays a merchant who has stolen his clothes when he is out take a dip in the Sound. He stopped by the police, and they find a call to military service in his pocket, after further complications lands him at the barracks, where he came under the loving care of 66 (Dirch compatible) and 65 (Ove Sprogø). So the stage is set for lots of fun and games, in the right old style.
Frederik Larsen (Lau Lauritzen Jr.), a sailor and has sailed since he was 15. Now he has lost the desire for a sailor life, especially after his best friend Bob was lost in a hurricane. When his ship docks at Copenhagen, shortly before Christmas, he signs off with all his hire on the pocket. He seeks accommodations in sailor home Bertel, located on the nice side of Nyhavn. Here he can stay and eat for very little money. He delivers his kitbag to the concierge Henrik (Mogens Hermansen) before he was lured by accordion music and the laughter that comes to him from the "naughty" side of Nyhavn. In the Cafe "The black sails", he accidently joins Inger (Lisbeth Movin) at the same table, whose profession is not in the phone book, although it is the world's oldest. Inger is in the company of an unemployed stoker Vladimir W. Olsen (Poul Reichhardt) that is full of scams, and has a good mood.
Café Paradis is an award-winning Danish film made in 1950, directed by Bodil Ipsen and Lau Lauritzen Jr., and written by Johannes Allen. The film received the Bodil Award for Film of the Year, and Ib Schønberg, for what is regarded his finest performance, received the Bodil Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Frederik makes various scams. As money is once again tight, Frederik and his wife Betty decide that they must go in new directions. Frederik dies and Betty cancels the life insurance. At first, things go very well for Betty. At the same time, Frederik is very jealous, which is why he decides to check Betty's relationship with men. Frederik appears as Frederik's brother, Carl. Carl and Betty have a few pleasant days together. Betty suspects that Carl is actually Frederik, but how could she know for sure. At the same time, the web begins to tighten around Carl/Frederik.
On the 9th of April 1940, the crew of a Danish merchant ship receives the news of Germany's invasion of Denmark. Instead of returning home, they vote in favor of setting course for England. The crew will undergo much hardship over the next five years ...