O, diese Bayern! (1960)

Bavaria, 1902. After 50 years of service, office attendant Johann Peter Neusigl is to receive the silver Royal Bavarian Order of Merit. The constantly nagging wife of his superior, district official Kranzeder, is outraged, because she thinks her husband should have been decorated long before Neusigl. Both she and Kranzeder begrudge the modest subordinate the award. Kranzeder’s boss, Government Director Steinbeißl, wants to use the occasion to present himself and his department as close to the people and always eager to help. He therefore orders Neusigl’s direct superior, Kranzeder—to his great annoyance—to invite the lowly office attendant, his wife, and several representatives of the community to a meal. The guests gradually arrive, and the food is served. The host, and especially his wife, are quite put out at having to entertain such “ordinary” people. Meanwhile, Director Steinbeißl is traveling by train to attend the feast at the Kranzeders’ home. As the festivities progress, the alcohol flows and the differences among the guests become impossible to overlook or ignore. For a while, young council member Merkl slips into the kitchen to flirt with Anna, the blonde maid. At the dinner table, the alcohol flows freely, and the older guests begin telling old war stories. In high spirits, teacher Heberlein launches into the song “Who Wants to Join the Soldiers.” Before long, the others join in. Kranzeder grows increasingly irritated and cannot understand why Government Director Steinbeißl has not arrived. Steinbeißl’s carriage, which is supposed to take him from the station to Kranzeder’s home, has collided with a motorcar, and he is now sitting in a roadside ditch, waiting for his carriage to be repaired. In the meantime, the alcohol keeps flowing and the guests grow ever more uninhibited. Mrs. Kranzeder is increasingly offended, and her husband, who always insists on propriety and composure, is becoming more and more uncomfortable too. Then two guests, the burly Guthofer and the slight Merkl, start fighting. Only the intervention of the other guests prevents things from getting worse. Despair takes hold at the Kranzeders’ home. At last, after a long wait, the Government Director reaches the village, transported on an ox cart. When he enters the room, the guests are in the middle of a full-fledged brawl. Steinbeißl can only ask, utterly bewildered, “What is this?”, but no one stops fighting. Soaked in champagne and indignant, the long-awaited guest of honor observes in dismay: “I see. Every effort here is in vain!” The next morning, those involved tend their wounds; some are hauled around in a little cart, dead drunk, while others kiss outdoors, like the two maids with two of the guests, Merkl and the assessor. Mr. and Mrs. Neusigl stroll happily through the village, the silver Medal of Merit gleaming on Neusigl’s lapel.