Das Ferienkind (1943)

The retired stationmaster Vinzenz Panigel wants nothing more to do with his daughter Hedi and her family because she married Müller, a waiter from Hamburg. Panigel’s housekeeper, Emma, and his friend Stockhammer, a teacher, try to change his mind by passing off his grandson Hans as a boy staying for the holidays. Panigel, for his part, is looking for a wild boy to drive his two unmarried cousins, who have moved in with him, out of his house. On the journey from Hamburg to Wallgau, however, his grandson and another boy, August Kleewein, switch names, so Stockhammer keeps trying to foist the wrong boy on Panigel. Unaware of the mix-up, Panigel chooses the “right” boy under the wrong name. Gradually, Panigel’s heart softens toward his grandson, whom he nevertheless believes to be a complete stranger. The film then builds to a climax and shifts from comedy to sentimental melodrama when the grandson is seriously injured while mountaineering. In the end, though, there is a happy ending, and Panigel reconciles with his family.