Piefke, der Schrecken der Kompanie (1958)

Because Crown Prince Johann August Friedrich von Krakelsburg-Kummerstein has nothing but women on his mind and is constantly in Paris, his father, Prince Paul XIII, orders him to serve in the military at the barracks in the small town of Wummsen. But the Crown Prince has never cared what his father thinks, so he immediately returns to Paris. Meanwhile, Johann August Friedrich the barber happens to arrive at the Wummsen barracks with friends who have also been conscripted. He is the Crown Prince’s exact double, but turns out to be an utter fool, too stupid even to shoot or ride a horse. At the barracks, everyone soon derisively calls him Piefke. When Count Seefels and the Crown Prince’s confidant, First Lieutenant Lutz von Witzenhausen, pay the company a surprise visit, Piefke kills a swan with a lucky shot, even though he cannot otherwise so much as aim at the target he is supposed to hit. Count Seefels reports to the Prince that his son is an excellent marksman, and the Prince plans to hold an official military exercise at the barracks so that he can discreetly assess his son’s progress. Meanwhile, only a small, privy circle at the barracks knows that Piefke is supposed to be the Crown Prince. As a result, he receives certain perks from on high that he cannot understand, while his lower-ranking, uninformed superiors continue to harass him. The Crown Prince, for his part, is still in Paris, but First Lieutenant Lutz von Witzenhausen orders him back to Wummsen, since the Prince would certainly see through the deception involving Piefke. During the exercise, Piefke is as clueless as ever. He rides his horse through the enemy lines and eventually destroys a hornets’ nest, which forces him to gallop at speed and makes him look from a distance like a daring rider. At the last moment, the Crown Prince and von Witzenhausen manage to lock Piefke up, take off his clothes, and have the Crown Prince take his place. His riding earns him an appointment as a cavalry captain from his father. But since he intends to return to Paris immediately, Piefke once again takes on the role of the Crown Prince at the military parade the next day. He helps an unhappy couple get their happy ending: Colonel Stiefel’s daughter, Luise, has long loved First Lieutenant Joachim Jordan. But because her father is determined to have a noble title in the family, Luise is supposed to marry Captain Tilo von Weihrauch. Piefke promptly ennobles Colonel Stiefel in his capacity as Crown Prince and promotes First Lieutenant Joachim Jordan to captain. He also tells Luise and Joachim to kiss in public, and so nothing now stands in the way of their marriage. He, too, finds his great love: young Annemarie, who had already given up on him as the Crown Prince, learns that Piefke is actually a barber, and the two become a couple.