Documentary about the Swedish actor Gösta Ekman (1890-1938) with interviews with friends and colleagues.
"A dream play" - This made-for-television film constituted Bergman’s first production of Strindberg’s A Dream Play – a play he would revisit three times more. Gunnar Ollén’s Malmö crew was behind this, for its time, prestigious and costly theatre production, involving more than 40 actors and no less than 75 extras.
It is in a battlefield in Karelia, Finland during the Continuation war (1941-1944). Intensive shooting between Finnish and Soviet troops takes place. The Soviet occupation is strong, and on the Finnish side it is ordered to withdraw. But Captain Viktor Aaltonen does not listen to the order but wants to shorten a wounded companion's suffering. Aaltonen is taken to the Soviet prison camp, Vorkuta, where he will spend a decade.
Karin does not belong to the nobility but nevertheless marries the mentally ill king Erik XIV and becomes queen of Sweden. The king's skilled counsellor Göran Persson wants a royal policy supporting the people and supported by it. But in relation to the nobility the king oscillates between provocative strength and unpredictable weakness. Göran arranges that some very powerful noblemen are killed. Subsequently the king tries to have them convicted of high treason by the parliament. He forgets the manuscript, mixes up all facts, and the noblemen are acquitted. But Göran speedily gathers another parliament and has them convicted. Meanwhile Erik apologises because of the unjust murders. Hence Erik is dethroned and imprisoned. Göran is executed. Karin is restricted to a castle in Finland. In the prison Erik believes that he is still the king and gives the guards presents such as all fishes in the Baltic Sea.
Arvid share the love with a young woman named Lydia, but as is customary at the turn of the century, is not love enough for a fairy tale to come true. While Arvid struggling to create the basis for their existence, Lydia's thirst for the good life leads her to marrying an older wealthy man.
The old Victor Branzell has a grandson, Alf, who is in love with a clerk in a glove shop, Lilian Lind. But Lilian with her simple background doesn't get accepted in the circles where Alf belongs, and they have now reached the conclusion that they can't have a future together. Marriage is impossible. Victor summons Lilian and Alf and starts telling them his life story.
Georg Winkler meet Marguerite Hoffman at the casino in Monte Carlo. They become an item and travel the world with their act - Winkler is an accomplished marksman. Eventually Winkler's jealousy leads to their separation and he has to resort to work for secondrate circuses with a dwarf. But eventually he meet Margurite once again. Plot by Mattias Thuresson.
Lena Bergström works in an office and is unhappily in love with her boss, Johan Borg. She decides to quit. Borg's wife won't have any children, and when she becomes pregnant she has an illegal abortion. For some reason, Lena's father believes that it is Lena who has had an abortion.