Der Klosterjäger (1920)

In the Bavarian Alps during the Middle Ages, the hunter Haymo is commissioned by Heinrich von Inzing, the provost of a nearby Augustinian monastery, to guard the wildlife belonging to the monastery, as animals have recently been falling victim to poachers with increasing frequency. Ibexes are especially hunted, because superstition holds that their entrails can heal the sick. One day, while patrolling his territory, Haymo meets Gittli, supposedly the younger sister of Wolfrat Polzer, the area’s salt-boiler, also known as a Sudmann. The two quickly take a liking to each other. Polzer, meanwhile, is deeply worried about his dying daughter, Mariele. Since his income is meager, he cannot afford proper medical treatment for her. So Polzer agrees to shoot an ibex on behalf of his wealthy neighbor, the Eggebauer. The Eggebauer believes the wild animal’s heart might help his wife, who is also seriously ill. Polzer, too, clings to the superstition, hoping to use parts of the animal’s organs to cure Mariele. But as Polzer, the Sudmann, is about to shoot the animal, he is caught by Haymo, the monastery’s gamekeeper, who has already been lying in wait. In a panic, Polzer attacks Haymo and stabs him, then flees. The aristocratic Gittli, who eventually turns out to be a count’s daughter and only Polzer’s foster daughter, finds her wounded beloved and makes sure he recovers. Meanwhile, tormented by a guilty conscience, Polzer confesses his misdeed(s) to the head of the monastery.