Im weißen Rößl (1926)

The story is set in picturesque St. Wolfgang, in the Salzkammergut region of Upper Austria. There, innkeeper Josefa Vogelhuber runs the “White Horse Inn” and its adjoining hotel. It is the height of the season, and a number of sometimes demanding guests, including Berlin industrialist Giesecke and his daughter, keep the staff on their toes. Giesecke has just lost a lawsuit and wants to settle the dispute by marrying his daughter off to the son of his opponent. But Dr. Siedler, his opponent’s lawyer, has also taken an interest in Miss Giesecke. It takes some time before the two young people get together and the litigants make peace. Further turmoil looms when Leopold, the head waiter, who has long been in love with his initially indifferent boss, Josefa, stops giving his work his full attention. Events and people keep getting in the way, at least temporarily preventing the innkeeper and the waiter from finding happiness—especially when Josefa suddenly becomes interested in Dr. Siedler. Leopold’s jealousy now boils over, and he begins coming up with bizarre ideas that throw the whole establishment into confusion. In the happy ending, he too gets the woman of his dreams: the White Horse Inn’s landlady.