Die Vertreibung aus dem Paradies (1977)

Anton Paulisch wanted to get into the movies and build an international career as an actor. So he left Munich for Rome. Under the stage name Andy Pauls, he did indeed appear in various productions, though he never landed a leading role. He barely manages to scrape by. Only when his mother is close to death does he return to his hometown. His mother bequeaths him a large painting of the Expulsion from Paradise, which he had often admired as a child. But above all, he and his sister Astrid inherit a small photography shop burdened with heavy debts. Even so, his sister manages to persuade Andy to stay in Munich for the time being and look for film roles. His performances as a robotic Mechanical Man regularly win admiration, but the tour soon ends in disaster: during the filming of a motor-oil commercial, it turns out that he cannot drive at all. His sister nevertheless continues to admire and care for him. By now, their affection has grown into something more than sisterly and brotherly love. Astrid seems to return the advances of Berens, the stuffy branch manager, only because they would soon put an end to her financial troubles. A certain Countess Rosenburg does manage to get Andy a genuinely big role. The beautiful aristocrat is in serious trouble: she finances her luxurious lifestyle as a marriage swindler, and one of her victims is hot on her trail. Only a brilliant performance by Andy Pauls can save her from being exposed in a hotel bar. On the spot, he becomes her “secretary.” Their fortune soon grows, but even more cunning crooks soon take it all away from them again. By now, Astrid’s wedding to the branch manager can no longer be stopped. It is part of an elaborate plan devised by the banker. But everything takes a different turn on the honeymoon. Andy suddenly wants to go to Italy too, having just received a sensational offer from Rome by telegram. On the spur of the moment, Astrid, Andy, and the countess commandeer Berens’s car, ready to leave, and drive off without him. Just a few miles from Rome, he catches up with them in another car. But he has not raced after them because of his newlywed wife; he is after a toolbox full of embezzled bank funds. The countess cannot resist the temptation of wealth. And so the relationships are clarified one last time. They part, presumably never to see one another again. Left behind are the incestuous siblings Andy and Astrid, who reach the great gates of Cinecittà in Rome. Amid solemn pealing of bells, they drive into the paradise of film. An angel shows them the way.