Die Kuckucks (1949)

Eighteen-year-old orphan Inge Kuckert looks after her four younger siblings on her own. Soon, existential problems arise alongside the everyday worries about cramped space and food: the landlords are bothered by the Kuckerts’ noisy goings-on and give them notice to leave their apartment. Inge turns to the authorities, but they see the only solution as placing the younger siblings in institutions or with foster families—the oldest brother is already an apprentice. The siblings discover an old, dilapidated villa, which its apparently wealthy owner makes available to them as a home. The five eagerly set about fixing it up. Before long, the run-down house is unrecognizable. But the Kuckerts can enjoy their happiness in their new home only briefly, as a stranger appears, claims to be the house’s true owner, and asserts his rights to it. Inge never received a written contract from the man who once granted her the right to live in the house, so they are at a loss as to what to do. The siblings’ young journalist neighbor eventually comes to their rescue: he makes inquiries about the supposed owner and ultimately exposes him as a criminal. It all ends happily: the Kuckerts are allowed to continue living in the villa, and Inge and the journalist become a couple.