Kaisermanöver (1954)

A book is causing unrest among the Imperial and Royal Kaiserjäger: the old guard complain about *Kaisermanöver* by its anonymous author, Adspectator, while the younger men admire him for his forthright criticism of outdated structures. What nobody knows is that the popular Captain Gustl Eichfeld is the book’s author. Gustl, in turn, loves Valerie, the daughter of his superior, von Trattenbach, and she would choose him over Major von Jurinic, who adores her. Von Trattenbach, however, favors a marriage between his daughter and the major and has no idea that Valerie loves Gustl. The two therefore have to meet in secret. Jurinic knows that Valerie loves the captain, not him. He cannot even convince her of his qualities at a horse race, where he and Eichfeld cross the finish line neck and neck. Jurinic only gets a chance to distinguish himself when he finds the book *Kaisermanöver* in Eichfeld’s room, along with a letter from the publisher addressed to Gustl. At the midnight ball, Valerie pointedly dances the decisive dance with Gustl. Jurinic then reveals Eichfeld’s authorship to Valerie’s father, who is horrified and advises him to leave the Kaiserjäger. Eichfeld, in turn, now challenges Jurinic to a duel. Since Jurinic, the company’s best marksman, will have the first shot, Valerie fears for Gustl’s life. On the eve of the duel, she goes to Jurinic and begs him to call it off. When he refuses, Valerie finally agrees to become his wife. Although the condition was that the duel would not take place, Jurinic duels Eichfeld the next day, while Eichfeld knows nothing of Valerie’s actions. Jurinic is drunk and therefore misses Eichfeld. Eichfeld, for his part, fires into the air when he realizes that Jurinic can barely stand upright. Because of Jurinic’s dishonorable conduct, Captain Török ends his friendship with his best friend. The wedding of Jurinic and the unhappy Valerie begins. At the last second, Sergeant Franz Radler convinces Eichfeld that Valerie loves only him and agreed to the marriage only to save his life. Eichfeld manages to stop the wedding at the last second by interrupting the ceremony in the church. His improper conduct now threatens him with dismissal from the Kaiserjäger and imprisonment in a fortress. Only the innkeeper Radler, Franz’s father and Gustl Eichfeld’s former foster father, can help. He secretly goes to Emperor Franz Joseph I, painstakingly explains what has happened, and gives him a copy of *Kaisermanöver*. After reading it, the emperor decides that although the book is scandalous, it contains justified criticism of the military system. Török and the other young Kaiserjäger officers have also independently petitioned the emperor to pardon Captain Eichfeld. Since Gustl prevented Valerie’s marriage, the emperor orders him to marry her. Franz Radler also finds a wife: he is to marry Steffi, Valerie’s lady’s maid.