Mehrmals täglich (1969)

Student Ulrich Vogler and his five-year-old son Dieter have lost their wife and mother, respectively, following a divorce judgment. Now they are both urgently looking for someone to take her place, because their neighbor has called the youth welfare office on them, believing that the child is being neglected. Ulrich is really just a complete klutz, and one mishap follows another. As a result, he cannot convince the youth welfare office of his qualities as a father either, so they demand proof that he is in a stable marriage; otherwise, his son will have to go into a home. The only requirement for the new wife and mother is that she be able to make good Königsberg meatballs. Ulrich’s friend Lothar offers to help with the search. However, he does not prove to have much of a knack for it. He looks for the woman of Ulrich’s dreams in nightclubs, museums, and even in a rowing boat—but in vain. Time is running out, because little Dieter is causing problems at daycare, too, and the youth welfare office gives Ulrich an ultimatum. In his desperate search for a woman, he gets into one embarrassing situation after another. On an outing in the rowing boat, he not only reaches the border with East Germany, but accidentally knocks his candidate into the water, then gets into trouble with her father, who misinterprets his attempts to resuscitate her. Ulrich now tries placing a matrimonial ad as well, but that does not bring the desired results either. But his friend Lothar has another idea: he wants to publish a story in the newspaper about the youth welfare office’s scandalous ultimatum. This sets the catastrophe in motion, however, because now half of Berlin’s marriage-minded women turn up at Ulrich’s door. Lothar takes charge of the “casting,” but Ulrich is not happy about it and sends all the women away. The caseworker at the office also refuses to accept this half-page portrayal and gives Ulrich an ultimatum. Lothar wants to help again and quickly finds a “reliable new woman,” but she brings three small children with her to Ulrich’s apartment, pushing him to the brink of a nervous breakdown. What is more, she is still married, so the youth welfare office now means business and intends to take Dieter away. Ulrich hastily flees with his son, slips on a banana peel, and ends up in the hospital. There, a female employee of the youth welfare office visits him. She has fallen in love with Ulrich during his frequent visits to the office and tells him he no longer needs to worry. Since Ursula Köhling also knows the recipe for Königsberg meatballs, nothing stands in the way of a future together.