Das gestohlene Jahr (1951)

Austria, 1926. Marie Baumgartner, an ordinary postal clerk, leads a completely uneventful life in the sleepy village of Gintersdorf, not far from Vienna. One day, she receives an invitation to the Baltic Sea from her wealthy uncle von Boehlen, who emigrated to Brazil years ago, and his wife, Anna. In the small but elegant seaside resort of Travemünde, Marie meets Peter Brück, a young, cerebral aspiring composer. At first, he assumes that Marie is the von Boehlens’ daughter. The two young people soon discover that they share a great love of classical music. As the days and weeks go by, this shared passion develops into more than either expected, and Marie and Peter fall in love. Back home in Austria, Marie and Peter meet again some time later. The aspiring composer has had no success with his music and is trying to make a living as a violinist in a nightclub. Marie is deeply upset that Peter might fail as an artist simply because he lacks the means to devote himself fully to his great love, composition, and instead has to squander his talent in this way. She takes the initiative and decides to use her own savings to support and bankroll Peter until he finally makes his breakthrough. However, a concert put together with her money turns into a fiasco because of concert agent Pitzner’s negligence. To cover further expenses, Marie even embezzles money from her employer, the post office. Peter must not find out how deeply she has gone into debt for his sake. Hoping at least to get by, she plans to ask her distant relatives, the von Boehlens, for financial help, but to her horror she learns that the couple died in an accident. And so Marie becomes a thief once again, taking more money from the post office cashbox. This way, Peter will get his “stolen year,” during which he can focus entirely on composing. For this purpose, the two go to the seclusion of Normandy, where Peter composes his masterpiece, a brilliant symphony, in that very year. Marie even manages to secure the renowned and acclaimed conductor Svendström for the premiere. Peter’s concert is a triumph, and nothing stands in the way of his breakthrough. But Marie must pay dearly for what she has done and begins serving a prison sentence for dipping into the cashbox. At last, the artist, so out of touch with the world, learns the whole truth about how much Marie sacrificed for him and that she even committed crimes for his sake. He resolves to repay her and not to abandon her.