Heintje - Mein bester Freund (1970)

Heintje Fleming lives with his single mother, Franziska, who runs a small flower shop. The day before Heintje is due to leave for a holiday camp, the landlord, Kleinschmidt, turns up at the shop to terminate the lease. In the attic, Heintje happens upon old newspaper clippings about his divorced father, the famous racing driver Peter Fleming. On the spur of the moment, the boy decides to go in search of his father. While his friend Walter sends fake letters to Heintje’s mother from the holiday camp, Heintje’s trail leads through Hamburg and Norderstedt to Bremen. Peter Fleming performs there under the name Knut in a stunt show. After Heintje manages to stop two reporters from taking photos of Peter, he is invited to Peter’s house. The racing driver still has no idea that the boy is his son. When Peter has to leave to work on the design of a new racing car, Heintje sets off for Hamburg once again. While looking for somewhere to stay, he meets the street musician Aljocha, whose dacha he spends the night in. Meanwhile, Peter learns from his boss, Hartmann, that he will no longer be allowed to race because of several disappointing results. When he returns home with his friend Max, Heintje is already waiting for them. He still does not reveal that he is Peter’s son, claiming instead to be a fan. To Heintje’s disappointment, a woman named Sylvia shows up; after her divorce, she has set her sights on Peter again. When the police pick up Heintje and Aljocha, Peter goes to the station to collect the boy. A little later, he learns that he is to replace a driver who has dropped out of a race at the Nürburgring. Sylvia discovers Heintje’s true identity and intends to tell Peter everything. Heintje then snatches his passport from her and is hit by a car. Peter arrives at the accident scene shortly afterward and now learns that the boy who was injured is his son. Peter calls Franziska from the hospital. She immediately sets off to join them. Heintje, who has suffered a head injury and briefly regains consciousness, explicitly wishes for Peter to take part in the race. Peter does indeed go to the Nürburgring. Meanwhile, Franziska Fleming arrives at the hospital. Once Heintje has woken up, the two of them follow the race on the radio. Peter Fleming wins the race at the last second. He reconciles with Franziska while still at the hospital.