Alt Heidelberg (1959)
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Directors
Cast
Christian Wolff, Gert Fröbe, Sabine Sinjen, Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur, Heinrich Gretler
A young hereditary prince finds freedom and love in Heidelberg, but his royal obligations threaten to take both away.
The story
After passing his university entrance examinations with distinction, Karl-Heinrich, hereditary prince of Sachsen-Karlsburg, is sent by his uncle to study in Heidelberg, accompanied by Dr. Jüttner, his longtime tutor. The student fraternity Saxonia welcomes him, and he falls in love with Käthi, the innkeeper’s niece. Though she is nearly engaged to someone else, she returns his feelings. Karl-Heinrich relishes the freedom and companionship he has never experienced in his solitary upbringing. When his uncle becomes seriously ill, however, the prince must leave Heidelberg to prepare for the duties awaiting him at home, promising Käthi that he will return.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After Karl-Heinrich, Hereditary Prince of Sachsen-Karlsburg, passes his university entrance examinations with distinction, his uncle, the Prince of Sachsen-Karlsburg, sends him to Heidelberg to study. Dr. Jüttner, who has overseen his education since he was a child, accompanies the hereditary prince. Upon arriving in Heidelberg, the prince is immediately recruited by the Saxonia Corps student fraternity. He also falls in love with Käthi, the niece of the innkeeper whose establishment he is staying at. Although Käthi is practically engaged already, she loves him too. A happy time begins for the hereditary prince and Dr. Jüttner. The prince, who grew up in solitude, especially enjoys the freedom of being among all those young people—a way of life he has never known before. After a few months, when the Prince of Sachsen-Karlsburg falls seriously ill, Karl-Heinrich must reluctantly return home to prepare for his future duties as ruler. He promises Käthi that he will come back. Dr. Jüttner, who has greatly enjoyed his time in Heidelberg, stays there at the prince’s request and dies a short time later. Two years have now passed, and after his uncle’s death Karl-Heinrich is himself the prince. For reasons of state, he is expected to marry. A suitable bride has already been chosen for him. A few weeks before the wedding, Kellermann, a waiter at the Heidelberg inn to whom Karl-Heinrich had promised a job as cellar master, comes to see the prince and asks him to keep his promise. The old man tells Karl-Heinrich what happened in Heidelberg. The young prince then spontaneously decides to travel to Heidelberg once more, to see his Corps brothers and, above all, Käthi again. But he finds only two of his former companions there, and is disappointed by how formally and ceremoniously they now treat him. Käthi, by contrast, treats him with the same warmth and frankness as before. Their final parting is very painful for them both. Käthi will soon marry, and Karl-Heinrich must take the place ordained for him by his birth and fate. There is no place in it for the woman he loves.
Genres
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