Die Mädels vom Immenhof (1955)

The Immenhof pony farm is the whole world of Henriette Jantzen and her granddaughters Angela, Barbara—who is only ever called Dick—and Brigitte, known to everyone as Dalli. While 26-year-old Angela keeps the farm’s books and helps run the business, her sisters, 16-year-old Dick and 12-year-old Dalli, devote themselves entirely to caring for the more than one hundred ponies. Although Grandma Jantzen is famous for her breeding methods, the elderly woman is struggling financially. The ponies are selling slowly and no longer bring in as much as they once did, barely covering the costs of breeding. For this reason, the estate’s “Forsthaus Dodau” has been leased to riding instructor Jochen von Roth, who runs the “Riding Paradise” there and plans, in the near future, to devote himself solely to breeding horses. The long summer holidays are about to begin, and a visitor is expected: Ethelbert, a distant relative from a wealthy family who lives in the city and is about Dick’s age. Dick and Dalli are quickly disappointed by their guest. He proves to be an arrogant, conceited snob. A photograph of Ethelbert’s supposed girlfriend, the affection shown him by one of von Roth’s riding students, and his attempts to get closer to Angela unsettle what had been a peaceful life on the farm. Although Dick in particular tries several times to reach out to Ethelbert, his boastful manner ruins every attempt to get to know him better. His self-satisfaction makes him an outsider, and soon Dick and Dalli, along with Mans, the blacksmith’s son, and their other friends, want nothing more to do with him and exclude him from their activities. When he offers to help them with the haymaking, they simply leave him standing in the field. Only after Jochen von Roth takes Ethelbert to task and bluntly makes it clear that he has to change himself instead of waiting for others to approach him does Ethelbert reconsider his behavior. Shortly afterward, he comes across Dick standing in a stream in rubber boots, clearing a small dam of mud and branches with a spade. Once again, she turns down his offer to help, saying that it is not the kind of work for him anyway. Ethelbert then jumps into the stream and deliberately smears himself with mud. He shouts that he is not afraid of getting dirty, that he can pitch in, and, above all, that he no longer wants to be alone. During a night of thunderstorms, Ethelbert proves that he has taken von Roth’s words to heart. He saves the life of an injured foal, stays awake all night in the barn with Dick, and wins her respect and friendship through his actions. But financial worries still hang over Immenhof like a sword of Damocles. When several ponies fall ill as well, Dr. Pudlich—a friend of the family and a great admirer of Grandma Jantzen—devotes himself tirelessly to caring for them. Henriette Jantzen reluctantly considers selling Immenhof, a particularly painful prospect because it would deprive her granddaughters of their home. Dick happens to overhear her grandmother talking about the matter and can think of no one else to confide in but Jochen von Roth. He has just sold one of his valuable breeding horses and had intended to use the proceeds to build up his horse-breeding business. Instead, he decides to buy Forsthaus Dodau, which he had so far only leased. The proceeds from the sale enable Grandma Jantzen, for the time being, to save Immenhof. This also leads Angela finally to speak to her grandmother about her love for von Roth, and the elderly woman agrees to their engagement. At the end of the holidays, Ethelbert finds it very hard to leave Immenhof, and Dick in particular. He has found something there that he never knew before, and is already counting the days until he can return to the Immenhof girls.