Freddy unter fremden Sternen (1959)

Freddy has inherited a piece of land and a house in Canada from his uncle. He boarded a ship in Hamburg bound for Canada. There he met Stefan, an eleven-year-old orphan who had stowed away aboard the ship. Now, in Canada, Stefan is not allowed to enter the country because he has no papers. He gets past the immigration checks by using a trick, then later travels by boat with Freddy to Freddy’s property. On the way, they meet Manuela O’Brien, a young woman who turns out to be the daughter of their neighbor, Henry O’Brien. Manuela is amused that Freddy and Stefan plan to build a ranch, especially when their house turns out to be a dilapidated wooden shack without a roof, which had seen better days thirty years ago. Manuela lives on a large ranch with many employees. However, her father is hiding from her the fact that he is on the verge of ruin. He once took out a $100,000 loan to build the ranch, but now has to pay the money back. Having made bad investments, he cannot repay it. Foreclosure looms. It comes at just the right time for him that, after neighbor Ullmann’s death, Ullmann’s nephew now intends to work the land. Henry knows that large copper deposits lie beneath the neighboring property. He hopes to buy the land from Freddy cheaply so he can pay off his debts with the proceeds from selling the copper. Freddy, however, wants to work the land for a few years and perhaps sell it if he loses interest in life in the Canadian wilderness. Henry tells his henchman Ted to make Freddy lose his enthusiasm for living in Canada. Ted first has a tree partly sawn through so it will fall on the wooden house, but instead it lands on the tent Freddy and Stefan have set up. Later, Ted and his men try to provoke a fight by getting Freddy drunk, but their plan fails because Freddy does not drink alcohol. The other men are also inhibited, since they had reached the wooden house just as Freddy was singing a song. They enjoy singing along with him much more. Still, Ted does not hesitate to kidnap Stefan and abandon him on an island in the river. Freddy manages to rescue the boy. Henry has had enough of Ted’s bungled attempts and now takes matters into his own hands. He persuades his daughter to flirt with Freddy. Freddy is always thinking of his Susi, whom he left behind in Hamburg, even though the women in the area are all vying for his attention. Manuela is not the only one seeking his company. Freddy’s other neighbor, Miller, has four daughters, two of whom, Maud and Ellen, are in love with Freddy. Torn between the women, Freddy comes to his senses only when he receives a letter from Susi. Even so, he is happy to go with Stefan to Manuela’s birthday party. He wins a knife in a shooting contest, which Ted secretly steals from him. At the party, Stefan overhears Henry remind Manuela once again that he desperately needs the copper deposits on Freddy’s land, and that she must therefore do everything she can to charm Freddy. Stefan leaves before he can hear Manuela refuse to keep playing along. On the way home, Stefan tells Freddy what he heard, and Freddy is deeply disappointed. Meanwhile, Henry is on the verge of bankruptcy. He has missed the bank’s deadlines, so it is now going to take further action. Ted secretly reads a letter from the bank to that effect. He has had his eye on Manuela for some time and offers to marry her. He has saved money, he says, so Manuela would be better off with him than with Henry. Henry, however, laughs at him and sends him away. A little later, Freddy sees smoke in the distance. Henry’s ranch is on fire, and Freddy arrives just in time to rescue Henry, who is trapped in the flames. At the point where the fire started, the investigators find not only a gasoline canister but also Freddy’s knife. Before he can come under serious suspicion, Ted is identified as the culprit. Later, Henry visits Freddy and honestly explains why he is interested in Freddy’s land. Freddy, however, will not sell, because he wants to live and work in peace on his property and has no plans to suddenly become an industrialist. Henry accepts Freddy’s decision, even though it means his ruin. Shortly afterward, a police officer arrives and asks for Stefan’s papers. Since Stefan has none, he will be deported. Freddy promptly decides to accompany Stefan back to Hamburg. He now sells his land to Henry after all. In Canada, many women are left behind heartbroken.