A television adaptation of Goethe’s tragedy in five acts by noted documentarian Marcel Ophuls (The Sorrow and the Pity), this film was made in collaboration with the celebrated Deutsches Schauspielhaus of Hamburg. Clavigo is a young, ambitious writer who has seen his career prosper at the Royal Court of Madrid. His promise to marry the daughter of a French nobleman has enabled him to publish his weekly magazine, "The Thinker," and to further the possibility of obtaining high office. When his ambitions materialize, however, he breaks his vow, unmindful of the ensuing consequences. A sober film convincingly enacted in minimalist decor, Clavigo explores the theme of the unfaithful man, incapable of maintaining a balance between emotion and reason.