Heiraten/weiblich (1975)

Martha Wiedemann lives under the same roof as her divorced daughter, Gisela, and her granddaughter, Hannelore. Her granddaughter has recently fallen in love with Mr. Splettstößer, whom she affectionately calls “Splette.” At first, she tells only her grandmother Martha about her love, because Hannelore’s domineering mother is less interested in her than in her job at the forestry company, where Gisela holds a senior position. Grandma Martha has also fallen for someone: the caretaker, Kurt Wollenschläger. However, he cannot quite bring himself to reveal his feelings for Martha to her. Hannelore now gets the idea of finding her mother a new man, too. So she replies to a marriage advertisement in the newspaper, and when the suitor, Seidel, turns up a little too quickly, she can no longer warn her mother in advance, which greatly annoys Gisela. But Seidel was not actually looking for a new wife at all; he had got the address wrong, and his interest was in a pipe collection mentioned in an entirely different advertisement. Since her family thinks she needs to meet a man so that she is not married only to her work, Gisela does them this favor and meets the man behind the marriage ad her daughter had answered. As it happens, this is Gisela’s colleague, Martin Bechstein, and she assumes he just wants to pay her a visit. Accordingly, their conversation is all about work. But gradually, their conversation turns personal as well, and the truth comes out. At first, they are both taken aback, but then they grow closer. Until now, the two of them have been alone, but then her mother returns after having gone out with Kurt Wollenschläger. Martin withdraws, somewhat annoyed, but a few days later Gisela invites him to the theater. This gives them a chance to talk things through in peace and privacy, and so at last both of them have a love life again alongside their professional lives.