Abenteuer im Schloss (1952)

The revue of sensations put together by director Wilibald Müller tours the villages and small towns without success. The dancers Wilibald hired straight out of their studies with grand promises are frustrated because they are not allowed to show what they can really do. Wilibald, meanwhile, is despairing over the lack of money, inadequate performance venues, and the utterly uninterested audiences, who would rather go to the cinema. When the leading dancer, Marianne, also falls ill, the revue heads to the next town to find a doctor. On the way, the revue wagon is involved in an accident on the open road, and the theatrical troupe takes refuge from the rain in a nearby castle. The resident, known only as Frau Professor, and her house servant Jakob put the performers up as best they can, since they are not prepared for visitors and are themselves suffering from an acute shortage of money. Young Georg, whom Frau Professor treats like her son, has long had enough of the desperate situation: during a card game, he sells the castle—which does not belong to him—to an interested buyer with a handshake. Because Marianne’s health is poor, the revue troupe is allowed to stay at the castle longer. Georg reveals that he plans to sell the castle, but reassures everyone when Frau Professor collapses at the news. He has not signed a contract; he has only given his word. The revue troupe comes up with an idea to get the castle operating: they will turn it into a hotel. They obtain a mortgage from the bank and are soon able to open the castle as a hotel. The castle buyer and his cronies show up for the opening. They insist that the sale is legally valid, especially since Georg has already accepted a down payment of 100 schillings from them, and they check into the hotel, which they say they will not leave until the contract has been legally signed. The revue performers, who also serve as the hotel staff, secretly rehearse in their spare time for a dance festival meant to finally attract real guests to the hotel. The medieval dances require costumes for castle ladies and knights. When one of the dancers walks through the hotel in a knight’s costume, the buyer thinks the place is haunted. Word spreads, and soon numerous guests arrive at the castle. The revue dancers’ first deliberate attempt to stage a haunting goes wrong, however, so they reveal the truth: they are actually revue dancers, they staged the haunting out of necessity, and they would much rather entertain the guests with a dance performance. It is a great success, and Robert, an impresario from the opera who is among the guests, secures them an engagement. In the meantime, Georg manages to expose the castle buyer for cheating at cards and have him arrested, saving the castle. Some time later, the revue dancers perform at their first engagement. Together with a ballet company, they stage the ballet Cinderella in the castle courtyard, and the performance is a great success.