Die Försterchristl (1952)

After an uprising by the Hungarians against Emperor Franz Joseph, peace has once again reigned in the country since 1849. The rebels were pardoned by the emperor, with the exception of a few who have not yet asked for clemency. One of them is Captain Koltai, who, under the name Joseph Földessy, is employed as steward at Count Paalen’s estate. Nearby are the imperial forests, administered by Chief Forester Lang. His daughter Christel has two suitors: Földessy and Simmerl, who claims to be a high-ranking official at the imperial court in Vienna. Christel rejects both men, although secretly she is drawn to Földessy. Alongside the forester’s lodge and the count’s castle, another setting is the Barany-Csarda inn, run by the Romani man Barany and his daughter Ilona. Both know Földessy’s secret. Emperor Franz Joseph is on his way to Count Paalen’s castle, where the count plans to hold a ball in his honor that evening. When the emperor’s carriage has an accident and a replacement cannot be found quickly, he decides to walk through his forest lands to the castle. Christel spots him and mistakes him for a poacher. Under an imperial decree, she demands a one-thaler fine for trespassing on imperial land. The emperor has no money with him, so he agrees to spend a day in custody at the forester’s lodge, and is highly amused by the forester’s daughter’s forthright manner and the whole situation. While “in custody,” he overhears Simmerl, who has arrived at the lodge, propose to Christel, only to be rejected. Simmerl has learned Földessy’s identity after accidentally overhearing a conversation at the inn. In his anger, he reveals to Christel that Földessy is a wanted rebel. Christel immediately decides to go to the emperor and ask him to pardon Földessy. Simmerl, who describes himself as a friend of the emperor, turns out to be all talk: in reality, he is nothing more than a humble tailor in Vienna. Meanwhile, Franz Joseph, the supposed poacher, offers to show Christel the way to the castle. She is warmly received there and invited to the ball that evening, where she is to be presented to the emperor. She does not know that the poacher is the emperor, and nearly faints when he approaches her that evening. Földessy also attends the celebration. Misreading the intimacy of the two dancing together, he loses control in a fit of jealousy. He is arrested, but released at Christel’s request for his pardon. Only then does Földessy realize that Christel loves him, not the emperor. The emperor, for his part, realizes that a relationship with Christel is impossible. Christel and Földessy are united, while the emperor returns to Vienna—but not before inviting them both to his palace.