Under byens tage går livet sin brogede gang. Det veksler med tårer og smil, med lykke og sorg. I kunstner-restauranten "Mona Bar" i indre by fungerer den tidligere model Mona Frank som kunstnernes gudinde. Hun hjælper både med penge og hjertesorger. Mellem de mange kunstnere har Niels Brandemose sit eget ansigt. Han er for nylig kommet til byen for at gå på Akademiet, og hele hans higen og lyst står til at blive maler.
Sylvia Grøn bliver fyret som lærerinde. I stedet slår hun sig sammen med sin store beundrer, skuespilleren Herman Sander. Sylvia Grøn lægger sine sparepenge i hans rejsende teater, men det går dårligt for teatret. Billedet af Herman Sander falmer også efterhånden som tiden går. Sylvias gamle elev, Eva Kristoffersen, søger tilflugt i teatertruppen. Hun er hemmeligt forelsket i komponisten Henrik Brandt. Lige inden nøglen må drejes om for teatergruppen får Sylvia en ide. Henrik Brandt har skrevet et teaterstykke og det vil hun sætte op.
The attic of a city house is the home to a colony of artists. Among them is a writer, whose corpus is larger than her output. We also meet a hard-of-hearing poet who can still hear the grass growing. There's a painter, a sculptor and more. All are penniless - hoping that one day they will experience their breakthrough. "The Seventh Heaven", as the corridor is called, also houses two prominent residents, Fyrtårnet and Bivognen. They have set up a small diner and engage lively with the artist from the colony.
Joe, a circus clown, has a chance meeting with a famous French fashion designer, who – enthralled by Joe’s artistic talent – gets him a job in Paris. He quickly becomes the talk of the town, but as we know, wealth and happiness do not always go hand in hand, as opulent big-city living tragically seals the poor clown’s fate. (Stumfilm.dk)
The year is 1820 and a young, promising artist, Olaf Malm, has settled in Rome, Europe’s centre of art at the time. He is in love with Sigrid, but class differences make their love impossible. Olaf Malm dies in a tragic accident; he allegedly drowns in the Tiber, but his body is never found. Sigrid gives birth to their lovechild, and twenty years later history repeats itself: their son, Henry, who has never known his real parents, loves a woman who is far above him in social rank. Fate brings him back to Rome, where his parents loved and lost each other many years before. (stumfilm.dk)
In Horsens, the exiled Russian princess Elisabeth Antonovna is imprisoned. Though her existence is a sad one, two things in particular can cheer the princess up: stories about the cunning smuggler Madsalune, and flirting with her humble suitor, Lieutenant Johan Gordon. One fine day, the two joys merge into one, when it transpires that the lieutenant is in fact the smuggler Madsalune in disguise! The princess’ fortune is decided, or at least it almost is because the two lovers first have to smuggle the princess through thick walls and past an army of jailers. (Stumfilm.dk)
After ten happy childhood years, the life of David Copperfield takes an obscure turn. His mother passes away and a cruel stepfather crushes young Copperfield’s dreams and sends him to work in London. From here, the poor soul must fend for himself. Through the hard school of life, he experiences fun and tragedy, love and heartache, friendship, and deception, until he finally rediscovers his place with a dear friend from his happy childhood days. (stumfilm.dk)
The circus clown Joe Higgins is scouted by a world famous artist agent, who promises him fame and fortune. Joe takes the offer on one condition: His fiancèe Daisy and her parents are coming with him. Soon, Joe finds himself performing on the biggest stages in the city, enthralling his audience night after night. But the glamorous life in the big city is no fairy tale after all.
Not long before marine officer van Hauen goes off to war and heavy-heartedly leaves his family, he coincidentally discovers that his wife has a secret liaison with the dubious Count Spinelli. What the van Hauens do not yet know, is that the sleazy Spinelli has a hidden agenda. (stumfilm.dk)