Hermann Erhardt

Taking place over 12 hours on New Years Eve, a concert pianist murders his wife's lover, then frames an innocent man.

After her husband's death, Kate Zeller had to sell the farm and move with her four children from the countryside to Vienna. There she opened a small laundry and raised her children. When they grew up, they thought they no longer needed their mother. But it turns out that they still need her...

Retired Hofrat Geiger discovers by chance that he has an illegitimate daughter. He goes to visit her, but is turned away, even though she is in financial difficulties (her inn is very run-down and has no customers). To obtain Austrian citizenship, she marries the Hofrat—planned only on paper—but he is responsible for processing her naturalization and delays it to ensure she stays close to him. At the same time, behind her back, he ensures that her inn is renovated.

There’s excitement in St. Johann, when the lawyer and notary Dr. Junhnickel from Vienna arrives and brings an offer from a mysterious Brazillian: On the cover of a magazine is a young girl, obviously from the country, and in the background is the village landscape of St. Johann. The Brazilian has fallen in love with the picture and wants to marry the girl. In return for finding her, the village will receive a donation of RM 5,000. Oh boy! The mayor, the shoemaker and the district clerk go off on the search for the girl! They have absolutely no luck in the photo shop, because the photographer is boiling over what he considers unfair intentions and tells them to take a hike. Nevertheless, they find the girl’s address. The model, Christl Wallner is no country girl but rather a ballet dancer, who posed for the photo to earn a litle extra money.

A long time-span of Austrian history (from the late 19th century to the years after world war II) is reflected in the ups and downs of a family of piano-makers in Vienna.

In the first of Hartl's two Mozart biographies, Hans Holt plays the robust and dashing composer who, in keeping with the spirit of the film's time of origin, sets out into the world like a soldier of art after his falling out with the Salzburg authorities. Instead of conquering lands, he conquers the hearts of young ladies, like one of his most famous creations.