Four Norwegian seamen travel to Hamburg, where they plan to sign on to a freighter. Even on the train journey to Germany, sailor Bredersen feels the pull of alcohol, while his colleague Hansen categorically rejects it. Once in Hamburg, Bredersen convinces young cabin boy Kjell to join him on a drinking spree. It soon emerges that Hansen has good reasons for his abstinence. The film was made for the state welfare service for the merchant fleet in cooperation with the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association. With a cast made up of popular actors and shot on location in a documentary style, the film develops cinematically in addition to the message it sends. A formidable appraisal of society, it was Norway’s entry to large international film festivals and was shown in Competition at the 1961 Berlin International Film Festival.