Die Zwillinge vom Zillertal (1957)

Baron Franz von Auerstein works as an engineer and returns to the Zillertal for a holiday, where his mother lives at Auerstein Castle. Rather than staying at the castle, the young baron much prefers to spend time with his friends, the twins Christel and Reserl, at a mountain hut. He does not know that Auerstein Castle is on the verge of being sold. The castle is burdened with a large mortgage of 500,000 schillings, and the debt must suddenly be paid off. When Baroness von Auerstein learns this, her old friend Kleemann happens to be visiting her. The perfume manufacturer has long wanted to establish family connections with the nobility, and offers the baroness one million schillings if his daughter Daniela marries the young baron. The baroness reluctantly agrees to the deal, but makes it a condition that Franz must not find out about the financial troubles or the money arrangement. She then tells her astonished son that he is to marry Daniela, but Franz refuses. Daniela is also far from enthusiastic about the prospect of marrying Franz, but her father threatens to send her to boarding school if she refuses. The only way the marriage could be avoided would be if Franz turned it down of his own accord. Daniela therefore decides to behave as outrageously as possible. By chance, Daniela meets the enthusiastic mountaineer Franz on a high alpine pasture, where he saves her from a chamois. He introduces himself as a chamois herder and a good friend of the baron, whom Daniela promptly berates. In front of her father, however, she raves about the chamois herder. A little later, Daniela and Franz come face to face at the castle and are introduced to each other. They quickly agree that neither is interested in getting married and tell their respective parents. Only then does the baroness confess to her son that the financial troubles were the reason for the planned marriage. Franz and Daniela now agree to pretend for a while that they are a couple, so that Kleemann will give the baroness the promised million. The money is handed over, and Franz begins planning to convert the castle into a castle hotel. As a result, he neglects Daniela, who also becomes jealous because he always has time for the twins Christel and Reserl. In front of both of them, she makes an exaggerated show of being Franz’s sweetheart, prompting the young women to leave the castle in a huff. Romantic complications ensue. Reserl falls in love with the sensationalist reporter Konstantin Opel, while Daniela begins to take an interest in Hans Burger, a waiter at the Red Eagle Inn. One day, when Daniela is looking for something to read, she turns to Hans because she has often seen him reading in the evenings. She also mentions the books to his boss, Schmauss. What Daniela does not know, and only learns later from Hans, is that he is actually studying law and is about to take his state examination. Schmauss also finds the law books among Hans’s things and realizes that he is a student. He had thought he would one day leave the inn to Hans, and is now saddened that Hans never told him the truth. Hans, in turn, believes Daniela told Schmauss that he was studying, despite having promised not to tell his boss—especially since Daniela had confessed to him in return that she and Franz were only pretending to be in love. Hans therefore breaks up with Daniela and leaves the village. In time, Franz realizes that he loves Christel. At a folk festival, the more self-assured Christel manages to coax a declaration of love and a kiss from Konstantin. She pretends to be Reserl. When Konstantin proposes to her, Christel and Reserl switch roles again. However, the twins’ foster father, Gschwandtner, has seen Christel and Konstantin kiss. At the folk festival, Franz wins the traditional wrestling contest and has Christel bring him the victor’s wreath. A kiss is part of the victory, and the one between Christel and Franz lasts longer than expected. The next day, however, the twins have disappeared, and Gschwandtner tells Franz that the singing sisters have gone on tour with Konstantin. He says that Christel is in love with Konstantin because they kissed passionately at the festival. Franz and Daniela, now abandoned by Hans, decide to marry in accordance with their parents’ wishes. After the church wedding, they set off for the registry office. Meanwhile, Hans, who has successfully passed his state examination, and the twins, who meet Hans and Schmauss while on tour, learn that Daniela and Franz had only intended to pretend to be a couple. Schmauss, in turn, tells Hans that Daniela never mentioned his studies to him, only that Hans was always reading in the evenings. They all now travel to the Zillertal to prevent Franz and Daniela from marrying. They arrive in time, and soon afterwards there is a quadruple wedding: Hans and Daniela marry, as do Franz and Christel, Konstantin and Reserl, and the baroness and Mr. Kleemann. The Kleemann and von Auerstein families are thus united after all.