Marcel Lesieur

The picture tells of a mine disaster where German miners rescue French miners from an undergound fire and explosion. The story takes place in the Lorraine/Saar region, along the border between France and Germany.

Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.

In Old Stamboul

Blaireau, a poacher, is imprisoned for an offense he didn't commit. An ambitious lawyer tries to exculpate and glorify him. But, once he's released, this major philosopher destroys in just a few hours the prestige painstakingly built by his liberator.

Verena, a farm servant, gives birth to a little girl and for the happiness of her child, tries for nearly twenty years to bend the selfishness of the seducer who did not marry her. When she returns to the village, she has worn herself out at work, but she has the consolation of seeing her daughter's future assured.