A young shoemaker is arrested for stealing a small amount of money, and is jailed for fifteen years. Upon his release, he wants to get a permit to get a job and start anew, but finds that without a job he can't get a permit, and without a permit he can't get a job. Ensnared in the absurd net of Prussian bureaucracy, he can't see any way out. That is, until he enters a thrift shop and spots a Prussian officer's uniform that fits him like a second skin...
as Wilhelm Voigt
as Dr. Obermüller
as Mathilde Obermüller
as Friedrich Hoprecht
as Adolph Wormser
as Zuchthausdirektor
as Capt. von Schlettow
as Willy Wormser
as Zuchthäusler Kallenberg
as Schutzmann Kilian
as Wabschke
as Marie Hoprecht, Voigts sister
as Auguste Viktoria Wormser
as Lieschen, das kranke Mädchen
as Pleureusenmieze
as Kassierer Rosenkranz
as Polizist
as Prokurist Knell
as Zuchthäusler Puhlke
as ostpreußischer Grenadier
as Soldat
