Pünktchen und Anton (1953)

The hosiery manufacturer Pogge and his wife, Eva, are so absorbed in themselves that they scarcely have time to look after their nine-year-old daughter, Pünktchen. They prefer to leave her upbringing to the nanny, Fräulein Andacht. But she does not take her duties very seriously either. Several times a week, she meets a shady man named Robert at Café Sommerlatte. He pretends to adore her, but in reality he is interested only in her savings passbook and in the layout of the Pogges’ villa, so he can break in when the opportunity arises. One day, Pünktchen meets and befriends twelve-year-old Anton Gast. The boy’s single mother normally works as a waitress at Café Sommerlatte, but at the moment she is confined to bed because of an illness. To make ends meet, Anton helps out at the café. He wants to use the money he earns to pay for a restorative holiday for his mother once she has recovered. Because of his tireless work, Anton’s schoolwork suffers more and more. When he even falls asleep during class one day, his teacher threatens to complain to his mother. Pünktchen, who knows about Anton’s troubles, goes to the teacher and tells him why the boy is always so tired at school. Herr Bremser is understanding and excuses Anton from attending school until his mother is well again. But Pünktchen is not satisfied with that. Without telling anyone, she goes out at night to sell matches on the city streets—matches she has stolen from the cook. When Fräulein Andacht is once again enjoying a pleasant evening with her lover at Café Sommerlatte, Robert manages to steal the house key from her without her noticing. Anton sees this and calls the Pogges’ villa. Only “Fat Berta,” as Pünktchen likes to call the cook, is home. Armed with a meat mallet, she lies in wait by the front door. She confronts the burglar, knocks him down, and hands him over to the police, whom Anton has alerted in the meantime. Meanwhile, Pünktchen is out selling matches again. She is spotted by the brat Klepperbein, who can think of nothing better than to tell Herr Pogge immediately what his daughter is doing. Her parents can hardly believe it. They hurry to the place Klepperbein has told them about. Both surprised and horrified, they find their daughter begging on the nighttime street, dressed in rags and barefoot. They listen, stunned, as Pünktchen confesses. At last, it dawns on them that they themselves are partly to blame. For the first time in their marriage, Herr and Frau Pogge plan a trip together with their daughter. Because Anton prevented a break-in at the villa, he and his mother are allowed to come along too.