Der Gasmann (1941)

A nervous man in pajamas asks gas-meter reader Hermann Knittel to sell him his suit on the Halle–Berlin express train. After hesitating for a while, Knittel finally agrees to the man’s request, as he offers increasingly large sums of money. Knittel takes the man’s check and reaches his home almost unnoticed, wearing the stranger’s pajamas and traveling by taxi. When he tries to report the incident to the authorities, he is accused of breaking the law himself and told to present the check to the bank for verification. To his astonishment, the bank really pays him 10,000 Reichsmarks. Knittel initially keeps the incredible story to himself and, despite being married with two children, enjoys himself with his girlfriend, Lilott. He helps her set up a perfume shop, but then has to realize that he is only her second choice. At last, he tells his wife about the unexpected windfall. She does not hesitate to spend the money on major purchases, including a piano, a refrigerator, a radio receiver, and a telephone. The Knittels’ unaccustomed luxurious lifestyle arouses their neighbors’ suspicions, and the gas company suspects embezzlement. The police search their home and confiscate the money that has not yet been spent. Since Knittel’s explanations seem implausible to the police, he is put on trial. In utter despair, Knittel tries to find out from the bank who the unknown benefactor was. The director cannot give him the man’s name, but arranges a phone call with the stranger. The man sends a lawyer, accompanied by a beautiful witness. She had been visited by the man in her sleeping-car compartment during the night. But in the meantime, his carriage had been uncoupled, leaving him standing there in his pajamas; only Knittel’s suit had rescued him from his compromising predicament. At last, Knittel is cleared of suspicion.