Sex in Chains

Sex in Chains is a 1928 silent film directed by William Dieterle. Plot The film opens with Franz Sommer (Dieterle) and his newlywed wife, Helene (Mary Johnson). They are going through hard times, and Sommer is without steady employment, partly due to his honest-to-a-fault nature. Helene takes a job selling cigars and cigarettes at a restaurant. When a patron advances on Helene and ignores Sommer's warning to leave her alone, Sommer pushes him away. He falls and hits his head, dying some days later. Sommer is arrested and sentenced to three years in prison. Sommer is kept in a large cell with four other people, one of whom, Steinau (Gunnar Tolnæs), is soon acquitted and promises Sommer to help his wife while he's incarcerated. This he does by giving her a better job at his business and offering her his friendship while they both work to get Sommer out.