Freddy, die Gitarre und das Meer (1959)

Sailor Freddy has stowed away aboard a freighter in Genoa, bound for Canada. In Hamburg, he sees a little boy secretly sneaking aboard. He saves the boy when cargo being loaded nearly crushes him. The captain discovers them both and chases them off the ship. Freddy wants to go to Canada because he has inherited land there, but he has no money for the passage. With the boy, who introduces himself as Stefan, he goes to a warehouse where the child has made himself a small place to stay. Stefan is an orphan who has run away from the orphanage. More than anything, he would like to go to Canada with Freddy. Stefan receives some loose change from journalist Katja after holding open her car door. She drops a 50-mark bill, which Stefan secretly picks up. Freddy, however, is honest and gives the bill back to Katja. Later, at the Onkel Max pub, Freddy begs the waitress, Susi, for a meatball costing 50 pfennigs, which he gives to Stefan. He claims Katja gave him a meatball, which he has already eaten at the pub. He takes Stefan back to the hideout and plans to leave to arrange breakfast for them both for the next morning. So Stefan will know he is coming back, Freddy lends him his pocket watch, a family heirloom. At the pub, Freddy performs a song that earns him not only a few drinks but also Katja’s attention. She remembers the man who returned her lost money and is fascinated by his voice. She would like to make him a star. Susi, in turn, promises him something to eat, but Freddy flees when police officers enter the pub. Susi knows where he and Stefan are staying and visits them after closing time. She comes back the next day, and all three go to the fairground. There, Freddy is recognized by the sailor Jan, who brings up an incident in Genoa. Freddy claims Jan has mistaken him for someone else, but Jan swears he will find him again. Later, Jan shows up at the Onkel Max, but Susi lies for Freddy, saying her acquaintance isn’t called Freddy. When she tries to bribe Jan with money, he gives it back to her. Meanwhile, Freddy has tried to sell his watch. He runs into Katja again, and she offers to sell it for him. Since Freddy and Stefan have had to leave the warehouse and Stefan is staying with Susi, Freddy lets Katja take him to her home. Katja records a demo tape of Freddy singing. She also gives him 800 marks—the amount the watch was sold for to a collector. With the money, Freddy could pay for the passage to Canada. He wants to take Susi with him, but she believes he is having an affair with Katja. Stefan, meanwhile, is caught by the police and taken back to the orphanage after trying to take Freddy’s watch from the collector, whom he thinks is a thief. Jan meets Freddy again and tells him that the search for him on suspicion of murder has been dropped. Freddy had been involved in a fight in Genoa during which a man was stabbed to death. At the police station, this is confirmed to Freddy. He is now a free man. Freddy convinces Susi that he loves her. Through her contacts, Katja has arranged free passage to Canada for him, and Freddy wants to take Susi with him. She persuades him to go ahead alone, since otherwise he would have no money left to build a new life in Canada. A surprise awaits Freddy aboard the ship. Jan has secretly taken Stefan from the orphanage and brought him aboard in a duffel bag. Stefan will travel to Canada as a stowaway, and Freddy is happy about it.