Medical student Frank Braun [Carlheinz Böhm] arrives at the estate of his uncle,
Professor Jacob ten Brinken [Erich von Stroheim], to ask for money so that he can continue his
studies. His uncle is not home, but Frank is surprised to see a beautiful
young girl seated on the railing of a second story porch at the top of a
trellis. When Frank asks about the girl, the servant denies that they have
any guests and tells Frank to come back tomorrow to talk with his uncle.
But Frank doesn't want to wait until tomorrow. He tells his friends RalphGoutram [Rolf Henniger]
and Gerald [Harry Meyenrin] about the girl; the three of them decide to investigate. They
return to search the estate. Ralph and Gerald both catch glimpses of the
girl, but it is Frank who finally catches up with her. She invites him to
meet her the next day at 3 PM near the sundial.
In fact, it was about this girl that ten Brinken had gone away. She
is his daughter Alraune [Hildegard Knef], and she ran away from the convent school. Not
that the Mother Superior is unhappy about Alraune leaving. Alraune has a
reputation at the convent of causing trouble. She reads "obscene
literature," and she incites the other girls to do nasty things, even
though Alraune herself always comes out blameless. Good riddance, she says.
When Frank finally gets to see his uncle, ten Brinken refuses to give
him the money for his studies, so Frank goes to see an old family friend,
Princess Wolkonski [Trude Hesterberg]. The Princess has eyes on Frank as a husband for her
daughter Olga [Julia Koschka], so the Princess offers to loan Frank the money he needs to
continue his medical studies on the provision that he study at the
Sorbonne in Paris (she wants to keep him away from Alraune). She also
explains to Frank that his uncle was once a medical doctor, but he was
expelled from the university for conducting unusual experiments. She
thinks it's for this reason that ten Brinken doesn't like young Frank, who
is studying to become a doctor.
The next day, Frank meets Alraune at the sundial. They profess their
love for each other. When Frank informs Alraune that he'll be leaving
tomorrow for Paris, Alraune is extremely pleased and tells Frank that she
will accompany him. They arrange to meet the next day at the sundial. When
ten Brinken learns about Frank's meeting with Alraune, he changes his mind
about the loan. But Frank refuses the money and tells ten Brinken of his
love for Alraune, so ten Brinken tells Frank the truth about her. He gives
Frank a diary in which he describes the circumstances surrounding her
birth. Aided by Princess Wolkonski, ten Brinken artificially impregnated a
seedy prostitute with the sperm from a murderer about to be hanged.
Alraune, he says, already shows evidence of the evil characteristics of
her true parents.
Horrified by the truth of Alraune's ancestry, Frank leaves for Paris
that night and fails to meet Alraune as planned. Letters that Alraune
sends to Frank come back "refused". Feeling betrayed by Frank, Alraune
begins to live up to her legacy. First, she suggests that her father buy a
seemingly worthless tract of land, but when they ride out to survey the
land, they uncover a sulfur spring, spouting water that can be developed
into a successful health spa. Olga comes to stay with the ten Brinkens
while her mother travels to Paris. When Olga receives a letter from her
mother regarding Olga's engagement to Frank, Alraune convinces Olga that
no man who really loved her would send his love through his fiancee's
mother, so Olga attempts suicide by poison.
Alraune takes to flirting with men who are infatuated with her. She
goes horseback riding in a rainstorm with Gerald. She goes riding in a
carriage with the coachman Mathieu [Hans Cossy]. She poses for Ralph so that he can
paint her. When one of Alraune's necklaces comes up missing and is found
in the luggage of her governess, Mlle Duvaliere [Denise Vernac], Alraune requests that
Mlle be dismissed. Later she learns that it was Dr Mohn [Harry Halm] who took the key
to Alraune's jewelry box, stole the necklace, and planted it in Mlle's
luggage, all to gain Alraune's favor. Frank returns from Paris with his
doctorate, but still he refuses to have anything to do with Alraune.
Distraught by Frank's continued coldness towards her, Alraune tires of her
conquests, and they begin to die. Mathieu's carriage runs over a cliff.
Ralph catches pneumonia and dies. Gerald dies in a duel with Dr Mohn.
No man seems to make Alraune happy. Alraune herself wonders whether
she is capable of loving and seems motivated by only one thing -- Frank
Braun. She begs Frank to help her. When Frank sees Alraune cry, he
realizes that everything he was told about her was untrue...she does have
feelings for others, she has a heart, she has a soul. Frank takes Alraune
in his arms, and they plan to go away together. Alraune tells her father
about her love for Frank, but ten Brinken refuses to let her go. Instead,
he gives her the diary and tells her to read about her parents. He warns
her that, if she goes away with Frank, she will destroy him, too, just as
surely as she destroyed the others. Alraune decides not to go away with
Frank.
Days pass. Dr Mohn threatens to go public with ten Brinken's illegal
experiments. Ten Brinken plans to take his money and move away from
Germany with Alraune. Princess Wolkonski worries that revealing ten
Brinken's secrets will ruin her, too. Frank can think of nothing other
than Alraune. Together, Frank and the Princess go to see the ten Brinkens.
While the Princess argues with ten Brinken, Frank pursues Alraune through
the snow. Alraune keeps seeing images of her dead suitors, and she faints.
When she comes to, Frank tells her that he loves her and tries to convince
her that she had nothing to do with the deaths, but Alraune sees herself
as the bringer of destruction because she is nothing more than a horrible
experiment, brought into being by the evil thoughts of a depraved man.
Frank assures her that both good and evil are passed into each individual
and that the good in Alraune can win over the evil. The evil thing is that
she was brought up without love. Whoever is brought up without love is
sick, Frank moralizes.
As Frank carries Alraune back towards the house, her father pulls out
a gun and shoots her. Alraune dies, and ten Brinken is hanged. [Original
synopsis by bj_kuehl]
company.