Einmal noch die Heimat seh'n (1958)

The young hunter Bertl has trouble with the new hunter, Michael. Since Michael has fallen in love with Gerda, the forester Perner’s daughter, the two men quarrel, becoming rivals both at work and in love. Bertl accuses the innocent Michael of a crime, and Michael is arrested and sentenced. However, Michael manages to escape while being transported to prison. In Africa, he finds shelter with an old comrade-in-arms and takes a job as a big-game hunter. After some time, Michael is so overcome with homesickness that he decides to return home, even though he knows that a prison sentence awaits him there. The real culprit was the poacher Alois, whom the hunter Bertl covered for because he wanted to get rid of his rival that way. On Christmas Eve, when Alois once again goes to indulge his passion, he falls from a cliff. Tormented by guilt, shortly before he dies he confesses to the farmers who find him what really happened back then. Bertl is then arrested. At Christmas, Michael and his friend from Africa mingle with the churchgoers. During Midnight Mass, Gerda looks over at Michael and is happy that she can soon build a future together with him, now that his innocence has been proved.