Kohlhiesels Töchter (1930)

Somewhere in the Bavarian Alps, Kohlhiesel, who runs an amateur theater, has two very different daughters, both of whom he wants to see married off soon. One is the pretty Gretel, a lively, spirited girl. Her sister Liesel, by contrast, is the complete opposite: a coarse, prickly country bumpkin who makes absolutely nothing of her looks and immediately drives away any men who might be interested in her with her standoffish manner. The widower Kohlhiesel is sure that finding her a groom will be extremely difficult. But since he wants both girls provided for, the crafty old man makes one daughter’s happiness depend on the other’s: Gretel may marry only once a husband has also been found for Liesel. Their late mother, well aware of how hard it would be to find a match for her unattractive and exceptionally unfriendly daughter Liesel, stipulated something in her will that might nevertheless make her more appealing to men: Liesel simply receives more of the inheritance than the comely Gretel. Gretel has two suitors in the village: Toni, the decent barber, and Pepi, a somewhat rough, simple-minded shopkeeper. Pepi thinks he is especially clever when he comes up with a plan to get his hands on Liesel’s inheritance: he intends to marry Liesel first, cash in on her inheritance, then divorce her straight away on the grounds of alleged “mental cruelty,” and marry Gretel afterward. Toni and Gretel, who are secretly in love, have no objection to this plan—or at least to the first part of it. Once Pepi and Liesel are married, Toni and Gretel will be able to marry immediately too. As expected, Pepi knows nothing of their plan. At the wedding, Pepi discovers just what a “battle-axe” he has married. But he is no gentleman himself and gives his rowdy Liesel plenty of backchat. So shocked is she that she undergoes a transformation overnight: she tidies herself up, washes regularly, and acquires better manners. When Liesel also cooks Pepi’s favorite dishes, he finally abandons any thoughts of divorce. Instead, he puts a considerable sum of money on the table to persuade Toni to marry his Gretel as soon as possible. The two lovers are only too happy to oblige.