Mein Freund, der nicht nein sagen konnte (1949)

The narrator, Dr. Hans Riedinger, introduces his best friend, Dr. Leopold Bachmann, with whom he shares an apartment. They are both tax officials, too. The friends also do many other things together. Leopold has one great weakness: he simply cannot say no. Riedinger then explains how the unbelievable events began. That evening, their landlady, Mrs. Dirrmoser, her daughter Franzi, and Leopold had drunk more wine than was good for them, and Leopold and Franzi ended up kissing. Word quickly spread through the house, and Mrs. Dirrmoser saw no way to protect her daughter’s honor other than to convince Leopold that, because of the kiss the night before, he had to get engaged to her. Franzi was not especially pleased with her mother’s demand either, since she wanted to become a great singer. Although Leopold did not want this match at all, everyone advised him that he had to face the consequences, because he had compromised the young woman in front of others. So Leopold had to say goodbye to his many girlfriends, which was not always easy and became even more drawn out because of his indecisiveness. Elfi was the first person he wanted to tell. But she gave him no chance, talking incessantly and even suggesting in the end that they could get married. Lola, who works in the theater, was next on Leopold’s list. On the tram ride to see her, Leopold met a charming young woman who immediately caught his attention, but she got off before he could ask her name. Since Lola had also been two-timing him, the breakup was somewhat less difficult. His breakup with Trude was easier than expected, too: she slapped him after losing a traffic-court case because of his testimony. After this, he met his beautiful, mysterious tram acquaintance again in the park. She introduced herself as Steffi, and he immediately invited her to a football match at the stadium on Sunday. But his engagement to Franzi was also due to be celebrated on Sunday. Since he and Franzi were in agreement, he managed to slip away for the afternoon. At the stadium he unexpectedly ran into Elfi as well; she invited him to her wedding with Rudi, who was with her. “Another one,” he thought. After the match, he went to the park with Steffi and, talking with her, completely lost track of time and forgot about his impending engagement celebration. Meanwhile, all the invited guests arrived, and Mrs. Dirrmoser did not know what to do. During an encounter in the park with his superior, Steffi learned about the upcoming engagement. As she began to turn away from Leopold, he made a decision: for the first time, he was able to say no—no to the arranged engagement. Mrs. Dirrmoser was quick to make up her mind, too, and pressed Dr. Hans Riedinger into the role of fiancé. When Bachmann arrived in a rage, thinking they were celebrating his engagement, his friend Hans explained that they were indeed celebrating an engagement, but it was Mrs. Dirrmoser’s and his. Three years have passed, and Hans Riedinger has not regretted his decision for a single day. His friend, who could never say no, has also become very happy with Steffi and their child.