Ferien ohne Ende (1976)

After 50 years of work, Maxe Baumann has retired and now wants to use his endless vacation to take care of some things he never had time for before. But the good life of a retiree turns out to be far more exhausting than he expected: Things are utterly chaotic at home and in the family, because Maxe does anything but quietly enjoy retirement. He would like to get everything in order: his family, his household, and his home and garden. Instead, everything goes topsy-turvy, and Maxe makes several serious mistakes and blunders. While trying to hang a picture, for instance, he drills into the power line; he also saws the legs off the dining table because it was wobbly. When intruders appear in the garden allotment, Baumann devises a plan with his garden neighbor, but in the end he catches only his grandson and the grandson’s girlfriend on a date. To save their relationship and make it possible for them to marry without their parents knowing, Grandpa Maxe throws himself into helping them. This, however, leads to a great deal of confusion. He arranges the wedding celebration without taking into account that the marriage ceremony cannot be held at such short notice. When the bride and groom’s bewildered parents, who had waited in vain at the registry office, arrive, he quickly explains that they must have waited outside the wrong office. But eventually the fake wedding is exposed. Baumann then wants to withdraw in dismay, but one person proves a great help: Maxe’s successor at work, Erna Mischke, cheers him up and is a good friend. She even comes up with a plan to get him out of the whole mess. She confides to her old friend and colleague that she herself wants to get married and therefore has a great deal to organize. So she wants to work only half-days for the time being, with Maxe filling in for her at the company the rest of the time. Maxe is very surprised, however, when he meets Erna’s groom: Ferdinand Holz, the future father-in-law of his grandson, who was initially completely opposed to his daughter’s wedding.