High-spirited young teenage tomboy, Ossi (Ossi Oswalda), is full of a fun-loving spirit and the bane of her wealthy uncle's, Counsellor Brockmüller (Ferry Sikla), and strict governess', Gouvernante (Margarete Kupfer) existence.

Ossi insists on playing poker and smoking and talks with strange men on the street. But this NOT acceptable behavior for a lady, and she is scolded for this. Her guardian and governess want her to behave like a "proper young lady".

When her uncle leaves to take up a new job, she looks forward to enjoying new freedom. Her hopes are dashed when her new guardian, Dr. Kersten (Kurt Götz), a handsome man about thirty years old. He proves to be strict and unyielding.

Tired of being bossed around by her strict guardian, frustrated with her cloistered life, and wishing she were "born a boy", Ossi heads to a local men's haberdashery and has herself fitted for an evening suit, where several male shopclerks compete for the pleasure of taking Ossi's measurements. Dressed as a young man, Ossi sneaks out on the town, so she can have more fun.

Soon she's out on the streets in top hat, white tie, and tails, her hair groomed like a boy's, she rides the street car, and finds that being a man has its own disadvantages when she discovers she is not given the same gentle treatment when she is masquerading as a male.

She decides to attend a lavish ball in her new disguise, where she's soon drinking champagne and smoking cigars. She attracts the - unwelcome - attention of a group of girls. She makes fun of others kissing, and flirts outrageously with (and even kissing) her own guardian, and he think's she's a fellow! Quite risqué!

Soon, Dr. Kersten appears at the ball trying to woo a young lady and Ossi vengefully tries to steal her away from her hated guardian.

Eventually, another man (Victor Janson) attracts the woman's attention and the disguised Ossi and the doctor reconcile. The two proceed to bond over cigars and champagne. After the ball is over, the pair drunkenly stumble home, exchanging inebriated kisses. After they pass out in a hired cab, the driver mistakenly leaves Ossi at the doctor's house and drops off the doctor at Ossi's home.

Upon waking up in strange house, Ossi becomes alarmed and runs home where the doctor has woken up and is trying to sneak out of the house undetected. Still in disguise, she pretends she is visiting her "cousin" Ossi, and the doctor begs her not to tell his ward about their "adventure". Ossi agrees and goes upstairs where she begins to undress. The doctor comes to wake her and is astonished to see Ossi wearing a man's suit. The tables are turned when Ossi scolds him for his behavior. Giving in to the attraction he feels for her, the doctor kisses her.

A 1918 German film ("Ich möchte kein Mann sein") directed by Ernst Lubitsch, produced by Paul Davidson, written by Hanns Kräly and Lubitsch, cinematography by Theodor Sparkuhl, starring Ossi Oswalda, Curt Goetz, Ferry Sikla, Margarete Kupfer, and Victor Janson. It was shot at the Tempelhof Studios in Berlin.

You wouldn't think there was a war on, with pictures like this being produced. But in spite of, or perhaps because of the ongoing conflict in Europe, the mid-to-late teens saw a veritable revolution in screen comedy. Notably there was Charlie Chaplin in Hollywood, but outside the states the most important figure was surely director Ernst Lubitsch. What is astonishing is that due to the war the German film industry was isolated for foreign imports, and Lubitsch's approach flourished independently without influence from abroad.

Prior to the expressionist movement in German cinema, this picture comes from a transitional point in Lubitsch's development, moving from his earliest character-based farces, which were not particularly special, to spectacular comedies where the gags were in the staging and arrangements. Essentially, Lubitsch realised that simple things can appear very funny if they are done simultaneously by lots of people.

Another factor that makes Lubitsch's German comedies distinctively different is the presence of German silent film star Ossi Oswalda, dubbed "the German Mary Pickford". Hollywood didn't really have anyone quite like her. A female star who could carry a comedy, and be the originator of the humor rather than just an element within a humorous film.

Lubitsch left Germany and came to Hollywood in 1923, and the American film industry would never be the same. He brought with him his sophistication, his innuendo, and his playful mischievousness. Never even remotely concerned with being politically correct, he was "ahead of his time" pioneering the cinematic musical, with the first modern musical "The Love Parade" (1929). His influence on American cinema is noteable.

This ground-breaker that challenges gender stereotypes is clever, full of charm and loads of fun. Ossi Oswalda, a very likable young actress, is totally tops in cute and charming and delivers a delightful performance.

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