Aufforderung zum Tanz (1977)

Theo Gromberg and his loyal friend Enno, an Italian guest worker, share a dream: to own a Magirus-Deutz truck and go into the freight business. To make their big break possible, Enno takes a job at a steelworks. Theo, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with regular work; he would rather spend his time betting on horses, gambling, and drinking. He gets money mainly by cadging it from Enno and through petty and not-so-petty scams. At the beginning of the film, he even hits up a little girl for money. Theo’s cheeky manner rubs many people the wrong way, so he is always on the run. His most persistent pursuers are a group of Roma, who unsuccessfully try to get him to reveal the identity of the gangster Calypso, whom they want to take blood revenge on for a fatality in a barroom brawl. Theo has an ally in Calypso, who can offer him some help when he gets mixed up with real gangsters through shady deals. These include Schneider and Jussuf, with whom Theo still has a few scores to settle. Surrounded on all sides, Theo faces an all-or-nothing situation. With Enno’s help, he manages to play his adversaries off against one another, but only briefly. By a stroke of luck, the two of them do eventually get the money to buy the truck they have longed for.