Dashing, Impetuous, Insolent. the playboy of Vienna- handsome, well-born, idol of the ladies- Prince Nicki, portrayed by Erich Von Stroheim. Riotous, color-splashed romance of Vienna.

Against the backdrop of Vienna's hidebound caste system, aristocrat and army officer Nicki is attracted to peasant Mitzi, although he knows it cannot last. Acquiescing to familial pressure, he ultimately gives her up to marry the more socially acceptable – albeit crippled – heiress Cecelia. Mitzi, for her part, is heartbroken and must resign herself to marrying churlish butcher Schani Eberle.