Der Reserveheld (1965)

The well-known actor and comedian Ralf Horricht interrupts the screen tests for his latest film, in which he is supposed to play a simple, undisciplined soldier. Right there on the set, he lays down a condition: he must be cast as a colonel, or he will not take part in the film. At home with his girlfriend Susanne, he eagerly makes plans. First, he makes her an awkward marriage proposal, which she nevertheless accepts. So that he can spend his honeymoon in peace on the Baltic coast, he intends to ask the director—who, he hopes, will once again plead with him not to quit the film—to give him at least 14 days to think it over. The director, who happens to overhear these plans, decides to bring Horricht down a peg and ignores the offended film star, who now sets off for the Baltic coast thoroughly confused. Unbeknownst to Horricht, however, before leaving he has burned a call-up notice for the National People’s Army, along with a mountain of unopened fan mail. On the Baltic coast, he does receive a telegram from the army again ordering him to report, but he takes it for a joke by his director and tears it up. As a result, immediately after his wedding to Susanne, two policemen take Horricht into custody and bring him to the barracks. From then on, he is a reservist. The men in his quarters are delighted that Horricht has not dodged military service—even though, in secret, he has tried and failed to do so several times. As a result, they take all the room duties off his hands: the others iron his clothes, polish his shoes, make his bed, and tidy his locker. After a while, Horricht is even allowed to be late for morning roll call. This changes when the group gets a new superior, Captain Hottas. He has no sense of humor and draws a strict line between duty and free time. What is more, he does not recognize the prominent actor Horricht and sees him as an entirely ordinary reservist. The others let him believe this. Preparations begin for the Horricht film about the army, and soon the film crew is stationed not far from the barracks. Susanne is among them, and after a chance encounter, Hottas begins courting her. He has no idea she is Horricht’s wife, while Horricht soon suspects that his superior is having an affair with Susanne. When the whole company starts talking about Hottas’s affair, Horricht—who has already tried in vain to get to Susanne’s room without proof of their marriage—steals a general’s uniform from the props and secretly slips out of the barracks to see her. She is annoyed because Horricht has to “turn everything into a movie scene,” while Hottas is horrified to realize that he has been flirting with Horricht’s wife. Horricht and Hottas clear the air: Hottas smuggles Horricht back into the barracks, and Horricht promises to be the most exemplary reservist from then on. He does indeed perform well and even carries out a special assignment during a maneuver in a complicated but reliable manner. In the end, Horricht’s time in the military is over, and he can finally go on his honeymoon with Susanne. But just before he gets into the car, he runs back to the barracks—he has forgotten to take his marriage certificate.