Nacht der Gaukler (Nacht der gaukler)

Klaus Koska is being pursued. After he happens to witness a murder and discovers that no one at the ministry is prepared to believe his story, he barricades himself in his apartment. An enormous crate, which suddenly appears there, as well as his affectionate neighbour Marlene and the importunate dental patient Hermann Schmidt, intensify Koska’s persecution complex to the point where he is convinced that someone is out to get him. He is still not yet aware, however, that Lubitsch, the Minister of Justice, personally intends to eliminate him as the only witness to the murder, and to set himself up as dictator that very evening. All too late, Koska realizes that the crate in his apartment is to be used to hide his corpse.