Ihr schönster Tag (1962)

Behind her stern façade, Mother Anni Wiesner is happy: Her daughter Helene, who married a millionaire in America, has come to Germany for a visit with her little son, so Anni can see her grandson for the first time. Her son Herbert is successfully studying medicine, and Anni’s husband Karl is advancing his career with the Berlin tramways. Only daughter Inge seems to be the black sheep. Her mother had planned a career as a dancer for her, but Inge earns her living as a waitress and hangs around with the musician Adam. The reality that each member of the family is concealing from her, however, is quite different. Helene never married the millionaire; he abandoned her shortly after their passage to America. Her child was born out of wedlock, and the father is a married man. She earned money through odd jobs and eventually fled back home. Herbert has not studied medicine for a long time; instead, he decided to study for a degree in business administration. Karl, meanwhile, fears he will have to give up his job because he has an eye condition and is due to undergo an operation. He was supposed to drive his tram on its final run, during a major ceremony and in front of television cameras, but he is afraid he cannot see well enough. Anni knows nothing about this either. She puts on airs in front of other people, especially because Helene is used to better things than life in a small apartment. She also treats Helene’s former boyfriend Erich badly; he has since made a living for himself as a plumber. Eventually Inge has had enough: She opens her mother’s eyes and shows her that Helene now works in the cosmetics department at KaDeWe. Anni causes a scandal in the department store. At home, Herbert tells her that he has changed his course of study, and Anni disowns both children, so Karl does not even dare tell her about his illness. When Anni once again treats Inge badly in a fit of anger, Inge swears she will leave and never come home again. That evening, Karl’s tram line makes its farewell run. Karl drives it himself, since he did not have the courage to tell anyone about his illness, and causes a minor accident. Horrified, he flees home, and Herbert now tells Anni about Karl’s illness. While Helene and Erich meet in secret, Inge spends the night at the shy trumpeter Adam’s place—he in an armchair and she in the bed. The next day he proposes to her, but gets drunk on his way to Anni’s apartment. By then, Inge and Anni have talked things out and made peace. Even Adam, drunk and loudly playing the trumpet, no longer gives Anni any doubts about the young man’s suitability as a son-in-law. Helene and Erich also announce that they intend to marry—of their own accord, not because Anni wants them to or doesn’t want them to. Karl also gets a happy ending: Despite his illness, he is promoted to transport supervisor. Anni has big plans for her son Herbert again, though: If he is going to do it, he should become a “Diplom-Großkaufmann” (a graduate business executive).