One day, Georg competes in a steeplechase and is on the verge of winning, but crashes into the final obstacle and is fatally injured.
However, Georg's brother-in-law attempts to drive them out, viewing them as a disgrace to the family's reputation and not wanting to share the colonel's eventual inheritance.
After another 14 years have passed, Georg and Helena's son celebrates his 21st birthday with his family; they are proud that he has become a colonel like his grandfather.
A Ruined Life was filmed during July and August 1912 at the Svenska Bio headquarters in Lidingö, under the working title En moder (A Mother).
[3] A reviewer for Dagens Nyheter disagreed, describing Borgström's performance in the lake scene as being filled with "överväldigande intensitet" (overwhelming intensity).
[3] Several reviews, including Aftonbladet and Nya Dagligt Allehanda, criticized the screenplay as poorly constructed or mundane, while Sydsvenskan wrote more positively, considering it an example of high-quality Swedish cinema.