Die ganze Welt singt nur Amore (1956)

Opera singer Olaf Anderson has just finished shooting a film in the picturesque lake district of northern Italy. On a whim, and out of a desire to lead a completely different life for once, he first swaps clothes with a humble orange picker and then trades his entire life with him. As a wandering street singer, he wants to delight everyone he meets along the way with his melodies. One day, the singing vagabond meets the young Gina Fiala and promptly falls head over heels in love with her. Meanwhile, Olaf’s friend and manager, Peter, has his hands full trying to calm Olaf’s lover, the fiery dancer Jelly, because Olaf has gone missing. Jelly had been looking forward to their last evening together and the one day off they would have after it. But Olaf has eyes only for “his” Gina, serenading her again and again. Her father, the respected music professor Paul Fiala, takes notice of the unknown singing tramp and suggests that he come with him to Vienna, where he teaches, and receive professional training there. The professor believes he has made a genuine discovery and wants to “make Olaf a star.” It is less the prospect of further training than the simple fact that in Vienna he would be near Gina—so desirable, yet until now rather standoffish toward him—that persuades Olaf to accept her father’s offer. At the thought, his friend Peter throws up his hands: this detour will disrupt all the plans he is responsible for. With furious Jelly on his heels and numerous engagements, including a television show, at risk, he is anything but pleased to learn of Olaf’s idea. Grinding his teeth, Peter drives Olaf’s car, with Olaf inside, all the way to Vienna behind the Fialas’ vehicle. Peter is not the only one shaking his head; Gina does too, though her skepticism is directed at her father’s supposed gullibility in trusting a stranger who, in his ragged vagabond clothes, certainly does not look like a future singing star. He has not even given his name, introducing himself only as “Olaf from Sweden.” It takes a while before everyone realizes whom they have actually invited to Vienna. On the journey there, Olaf and Peter trade all sorts of teasing remarks with Gina and her father. In the Austrian capital, Olaf discovers that the still prickly Gina does not live under the same roof as her father but has her own studio as an artist and sculptor. The singer immediately tries to sneak into her place. Later, Olaf also discovers that naked men come and go at Gina’s place—naturally, she later assures him, only as subjects for her sculptures. When he catches sight of one of her models, the well-built Max, jealousy boils up in Olaf—to Gina’s great amusement, as she is beginning to take an interest in the nameless street singer. Meanwhile, the press and photographers have found out who he really is, so Olaf has to confess to his patron, the music professor, that he is the famous opera singer Olaf Anderson. The Swede tries in vain to reach Gina by phone to confess everything to her. At the revue theater, where Olaf is due to perform on television, the two protagonists finally meet again. Olaf belts out the aria, “I’ll give you the moon, and I’ll give you the stars. And my heart, my heart as well!” Gina, along with the television audience watching remotely, realizes how much she means to Olaf.