Der Jäger von Fall (1956)

The shepherdess Marei is torn between two men: Blasi is the father of her young son born out of wedlock, but he is also a poacher. She no longer notices that he loves her; instead, he increasingly uses her mountain hut as a hideout from the gamekeepers. The gamekeeper Friedl, meanwhile, has loved Marei for a long time, but is also Blasi’s adversary and wants to put an end to his poaching. Marei turns a blind eye to Blasi’s activities and believes the poachers just want to hunt freely in nature. She only learns that they shoot young animals indiscriminately when Friedl searches for one of the masked poachers, who has nine nails in the soles of his shoes—and Blasi wears just such shoes. But Friedl is unable to catch Blasi and the other poachers. Blasi comes to Marei and has her sign a document absolving him of paternity of their son. She is appalled by his cold-bloodedness, and also by the fact that he intends to marry another woman for his father’s sake. Friedl persuades her to place her son in the care of his mother, since the boy has been growing up in an institution until now. On his wedding day, Blasi slips away from the festivities to take part in a secret drive hunt with other poachers. Together, the numerous poachers drive the game into a group, shoot it indiscriminately, and carry the dead animals away on a raft. The alerted gamekeepers stop them, but by then Blasi has already fled. He shoots Friedl, who is on his trail. Then he flees to Marei. Her young son is there too; Friedl has brought him to the mountain pasture shortly beforehand. Against her wishes, Blasi hides in her hut. When Friedl comes to the hut, Marei lies and says Blasi is not there. She has secretly removed the cartridges from Blasi’s gun, so when he threatens the startled Friedl with it, he cannot fire. When Friedl in turn tries to shoot Blasi, Marei throws herself against his arm to save her child’s father—and Blasi escapes. Friedl believes Marei has chosen Blasi and goes back down to the valley with her son, never to return. During the descent, he narrowly escapes an attempt by Blasi to send a boulder crashing down on him; it just misses Friedl and Marei’s son. Marei and Friedl avoid each other, but both are deeply troubled by the situation. Friedl’s friend, Dr. Harlander, and Marei’s relative Lenzl manage to reconcile them. The wedding is arranged. One night, the gamekeepers are on Blasi’s trail again as he tries to hide in Marei’s mountain hut. Lenzl, who lives with Marei, manages to escape from the hut. Blasi suspects he will betray him and goes to get his gun. Lenzl, meanwhile, tells the gamekeepers where Blasi always hides the gun. To reach the hiding place, Blasi has to cross a footbridge over a ravine. There, two gamekeepers and Lenzl finally intercept him. Blasi is stabbed to death during the struggle. Soon afterward, Friedl and Marei celebrate their splendid wedding.