Kongo-Express (1939)

Gaston Thibault works as a pilot in southern Africa. He is clearly partial to alcohol, which affects his work as well. When the Frenchman loses his job, he sees no other way out than to break off his engagement to his German girlfriend, Renate Brinkmann. When the bad news reaches her in faraway Germany, Renate decides to travel to Thibault immediately. Once in Africa, she boards the Congo Express, a train that is supposed to take her to Gaston. During the journey, she meets Viktor Hartmann, a German expatriate living in the African bush: a gentleman of the old school, somewhat stiff, but with unyielding principles. They become friends, and as the journey goes on, Hartmann seems increasingly interested in Renate. Renate, too, finds his chivalrous manner quite appealing and charming, but her heart still belongs entirely to Gaston. Thibault is surprised when Renate suddenly appears in his little room at the airport. Only then does she realize how far her fiancé has fallen. He has lost his pilot’s license—and with it the ability to earn a living—and seems embittered. His German fiancée knows how to lift his spirits, and soon Gaston sees a glimmer of hope again. Now he wants to marry Renate, too, and, buoyed by his renewed zest for life, immediately sets off for the nearest town to ask an old friend to be his best man. That friend happens to be Viktor. When Hartmann learns who Gaston’s bride-to-be is, he wants to withdraw gracefully, but Thibault, unaware of their fateful encounter on the train, insists that the two get to know each other better. They arrange to meet at Mollison Farm, where a farewell party is to be held, since its namesake owner is planning to return to Europe. Gaston intends to join them later. During the drive to the farm, Viktor and Renate grow closer, and when their car breaks down, the young woman from Hamburg realizes that her compatriot Hartmann may be a better match for her than the restless, somewhat unstable-seeming Frenchman. The two plan to tell Gaston at Mollison that they have decided to build a future together. Once there, Renate learns that her fiancé lost his pilot’s license only because he once covered for his mechanic after a serious mistake. The mechanic had been drunk on duty and died as a result of a moment’s carelessness. If the truth came out, his widow would no longer be able to receive financial support. Renate therefore decides to keep quiet and reverse her decision to leave Gaston. But that very evening, Thibault drinks heavily and gets into a fight. Confused by everything that has happened, Renate Brinkmann wants only to get out of Africa and return to Germany. At the station, she says goodbye to Viktor. The next day, Renate boards the Congo Express. Shortly after it departs, the stationmaster learns that another train is traveling along the same route in the opposite direction, on a collision course. There is no way to contact either train. When Viktor, who has stayed behind at the station, hears about it, he immediately alerts Gaston and tells him of the impending tragedy. Gaston, who now knows of Viktor’s feelings for Renate, is nevertheless ready at once to take to the skies and warn the Congo Express. Viktor joins him, but the train driver cannot understand what the two men in the aircraft overhead want. Viktor then undertakes a daring feat: he jumps out of the plane with a parachute, hoping to land on the train. But a gust of wind blows him off course, and he crashes into a tree, his parachute caught in its branches. Now it is entirely up to Gaston to prevent the catastrophe in a desperate act and save Renate’s life. In a kamikaze-style dive, he crashes his plane onto the tracks. He dies, but the impact forces the Congo Express to stop. Renate and Viktor return to Germany, where they hope to build a life together.