Der verkaufte Großvater (1962)

Nikodemus Köberl, known as Grandpa Kreithofer, has a mischievous streak and drives his son and daughter-in-law to despair with his pranks in the small village of Perlbach. His grandson Michael is learning the pharmacy trade in Munich, where he happens to meet young Eva, known as Ev, who is studying at a fashion school. They fall in love. Meanwhile, after a breakdown, Ev’s stepfather, Friedrich Wilhelm Dünkelberg, has also ended up in Perlbach. The innkeeper, Haslinger, tells him that there is a healing spring on a piece of land in the village, which only he knows about. Haslinger now plans to turn Perlbach into a spa town. To do so, he needs to acquire the land. It turns out to belong to Grandpa Kreithofer’s brother, who emigrated to the USA and has since died there, without the grandfather’s knowledge. In the USA, no one knows that there are still heirs in Germany, so Haslinger persuades the grandfather to sell it to him. The family plays along: on the one hand, they could use the money, since they owe Haslinger money; on the other, they know that the crafty grandfather already knows how he will get out of the whole affair. The grandfather now takes advantage of his family, pretends to be ill, and soon learns by chance about the land and the healing spring. The Dünkelbergs hope that the grandfather will leave them his estate in his will, allowing them to inherit the land and spring cheaply. Only Ev knows nothing of the schemes, but she is upset that her stepfather and her snobbish mother reject Michael as a son-in-law because he owns no property. In the end, Grandpa brings everything to a happy conclusion: he gives Michael the land with the healing spring, but leaves the rest of his property to the Dünkelbergs. At the end, he is able to announce Ev and Michael’s engagement; Michael is now a welcome son-in-law to the Dünkelbergs as the owner of the land.