Eugen von Bongardt

Monika (German: Eine Mutter kämpft um ihr Kind, lit. 'A Mother Fights for Her Child') is a 1938 German melodrama film directed and written by Heinz Helbig. The story centers on a singer who relinquishes her illegitimate daughter to a German engineer in São Paulo to pursue her career, only to return eight years later as a celebrated film star and wife of a prominent surgeon, demanding custody after encountering the child on a film set.

The good-natured helmsman Jan Jenssen somehow ends up being a part of some international intrigue, when he agrees to take a briefcase to Genoa on behalf of a certain Mr. Branting. It is there, that he gets to know the attractive Ruth Martens, who asserts, that Branting was a confidant of her father, who has in the meantime died, and that there’s a very important contract in the briefcase concerning Beryllium and a South American country known as Santona. But then, Branting was murdered and the contract stolen. The unscrupulous grand industrialist Morrow, who holds the monopoly to Beryllium extraction in the world, wants the contract, so he can do business with Santona himself.

Lisa's marriage is all in all quite happy; unfortunately, her husband never listens to her when it comes to buying new things. To change this situation, she fakes a loss of memory and pretends not to know who her husband is. When he calls the young psychiatrist Dr. Spinelski for help, Lisa acts, as if she believes he is her husband; and as part of the therapy, Spinelski makes sure that Lisa gets everything she wants. Finally, Lisa comes to the conclusion that she'd rather have her real husband and so pretends to fall for him, whereupon they start a new life together. I'll remember to try that the next time I'm not allowed to buy some beer.