Heintje - Ein Herz geht auf Reisen (1969)

Heinz Gruber, known as Heintje, is an orphan and lives with his aunt, Monika Klausen. Her fiancé, Günter Schelle, can’t stand the boy and wants to send him away to a children’s home. Meanwhile, Heintje has become friends with Alfred Teichmann, the owner of a riding stable. Although Teichmann was rather rough with him at first, he has a good heart and is amazed by Heintje’s singing; he has the boy sing onto a tape. Teichmann tells Heintje he should become a singer, but the boy replies that he would rather become a jockey. When Heintje loses his key, Schelle and Teichmann get into an argument. Soon afterward, Schelle succeeds in persuading Monika Klausen to send Heintje to a children’s home. Hanna Schwarz, who was once engaged to Alfred Teichmann, is handling the case at the youth welfare office. When she confronts Heintje with the new developments, he tries not to show how sad he is. In the stable, among the horses, he sings “Mamatschi, schenk mir ein Pferdchen.” When he asks Alfred Teichmann if he can stay with him, Teichmann has to say no, though he feels very uncomfortable about it. Teichmann is about to go on vacation with his demanding girlfriend, Gerdi Weber. During a hike, Heintje leaves his class and runs away. Since Alfred Teichmann has told him his vacation route, Heintje follows his trail. On the way, the crooks Harry, Hugo, and Else enlist him in their scheme: he is supposed to smuggle a certain package of radioactive cobalt across the Swiss border for them. They hide it in his travel bag without his knowledge. When nobody shows up at the agreed meeting place, Heintje continues on his way to Teichmann. When he finally finds him, they are both overjoyed. The next day, Teichmann phones Hanna Schwarz to tell her that Heintje is with him. When the head of the youth welfare office joins the conversation and unjustly berates Teichmann, and Hanna Schwarz sides with the head, Teichmann is so angry that he decides to keep Heintje with him for the time being. His girlfriend Gerdi then says goodbye to him, remarking that he must be crazy. When Heintje discovers the package in his travel bag and shows it to Teichmann, Teichmann immediately figures out what is going on and takes the boy to the police to hand over the package. There, he is told that he is wanted. When the officer briefly steps away, Teichmann, now on his guard, leaves the police station with Heintje. When Harry and Else stop at a gas station and hear Heintje singing, they follow Teichmann and the boy. Meanwhile, Hanna Schwarz has also arrived in Switzerland, deeply worried. She tells Teichmann about the cobalt and then begins to cry. Teichmann is happy to realize that she was afraid not only for Heintje but for him too, and takes her in his arms. Harry and Else have now caught up with Heintje and demand that he hand over the package. When Teichmann and Hanna Schwarz return to the boat, Harry is waiting for them and blackmails them, saying they will see Heintje again only if they return the cobalt. When the exchange is about to take place, Hanna Schwarz has everything arranged so that the police can arrest the pair. The three of them then continue their journey together. Hanna Schwarz and Alfred Teichmann decide to marry, also so that they can adopt Heintje. The real parents of the lead actor, Hein Simons, make a brief guest appearance in the film. In the scene where Heintje sings “Heidschi Bumbeidschi” on a restaurant terrace, his parents walk through the background, look over at their son, and finally sit down at one of the tables.