Die Stimme der Sehnsucht (1956)

Tenor Stefan Berger spends the time just before an important concert not rehearsing, but in a hospital—to the dismay of his manager, Pannecke—where he visits Luise, his former nurse, and sings a song for the sick children. On the scarlet fever ward, the orphan Eva hears Stefan sing and is so moved by his song that she sends him a letter. Manager Pannecke, who reads the letter while Stefan is away on his summer vacation at his villa on the Gulf of Naples, sees a good publicity opportunity. Without Stefan’s knowledge, he invites Eva to Italy, where she is allowed to stay for four weeks at Stefan’s villa. Meanwhile, however, Stefan has fallen out with his wife, Carola, because she has secretly met with her admirer, Enrico Alovani, behind his back—although she had only rejected him. Carola, for her part, is frustrated because Stefan never goes to social gatherings or wants to meet her friends, preferring instead to spend time with the fishermen on Capri and his best friend, Beppo. While Stefan travels to Capri, Carola goes to her mother’s. Eva arrives during the preparations for their departure, and Pannecke puts her in an expensive children’s convalescent home. Carola feels guilty and would like to take Eva in. When an employee at the children’s home tells Pannecke that Eva is sad and would like to meet Stefan in person, he arranges an appointment at the villa, knowing full well that Stefan is on Capri. He, too, leaves, so Stefan’s secretary, Fräulein Wenig, is the one who receives Eva. Seeing how upset Eva is, she spontaneously travels with her to Capri. There she loses track of Eva in the crowd while looking for Beppo’s apartment. Meanwhile, Eva has briefly seen Stefan, who has gone out to sea with the fishermen. With a fisher boy and a broken-down boat, she tries to catch up with Stefan’s boat. The boat capsizes, and Stefan, alerted to the two children’s distress at sea, just manages to save Eva from drowning and hand her over to a Coast Guard boat. Meanwhile, Carola has been looking for Eva and is distraught over the accident. She stays by Eva’s bedside until she comes to, and promises never to leave her alone again. Fräulein Wenig meanwhile tells Stefan what happened to Eva; he had known nothing of Pannecke’s entire plan. Once Eva has recovered and is playing with other children, Stefan arrives and embraces Eva, as does Carola. The three of them return to Stefan’s villa as a little family and watch the sunset together.