Eine tolle Nacht (1927)

Florian Pieper, a manufacturer from Essig an der Gurk, has invented an insect powder called Pieperlin. He believes he can conquer the German market with it, so he sets off for the metropolis of Berlin. But the naïve country bumpkin finds himself on ground he is not equipped to handle: everything is bigger, faster, and brighter, and dangers lurk everywhere for a man whose wife is away—especially one “sinful” temptation. It comes chiefly in the form of Margot Olschinsky, a pretty, spirited variety-show dancer, whom Pieper immediately begins to adore. Now the upright husband is swept into the whirl of the big city, and countryman Pieper stumbles into all sorts of adventures, with bizarre encounters involving policemen, dance girls, an Indian maharaja, and a wrestler. The settings range from bright restaurants and noisy dance floors to dingy dives and austere police stations. This “wild night” is quite something, yet Florian Pieper has remained faithful and well-behaved. But how is he to explain it all to his beloved wife, whom he believes is back home in Essig an der Gurk, when she too has made her way to Berlin and he runs straight into her arms the very next morning?