Schneewittchen und die sieben Gaukler (1962)

Norbert Lang has been the owner of a hotel in the ski resort of Klostermatt for just a few weeks, having inherited it from his late uncle. The young man, inexperienced in the hotel business, has several problems to deal with right from the start: Christmas is just around the corner, and the hotel’s old heating system is making strange noises, so a specialist is needed to repair it. It will be difficult to find anyone over the Christmas holidays, so Norbert offers the prospective installer from the company in charge a free winter vacation at the hotel for the duration of the repairs. The company promises to send an expert, Dr. Rossi. Since Norbert also wants to entertain the guests over New Year’s Eve, he looks for an entertainer in town, but all the good ones are already booked. Norbert ends up hiring the hydrogen-blonde striptease dancer Ines del Mar, who can also sing a little. Back at the hotel, Norbert treats the staff so disrespectfully that every employee quits and heads for the next hotel. In the middle of peak season, Norbert now has problems not only with the heating but also with staffing. Dr. Rossi is actually Miss Dr. Anita Rossi, who has just bought a car and gets stuck in deep snow on her drive to Klostermatt. Together with her dog, Mr. Schmidt, she makes her way to some circus wagons nearby and first sets about tidying up. A little later, seven performers arrive. Their Monti Circus is deeply in debt, so they have fled with their circus to escape the tax investigators. The traveling performers strike up a friendship with Anita, whom they henceforth call Snow White. In Klostermatt, Norbert is not exactly thrilled to welcome Anita as the heating expert, since he is far too preoccupied with Ines del Mar to take much part in running the hotel. With the deputy manager Säuberlich’s consent, Anita brings the seven performers to Klostermatt as the hotel’s new staff, and after a short period of training they make a good team. Anita really only wants to do her job, but Norbert soon begins courting her. Ines del Mar does not like this and sets various traps for Anita to drive her out of the hotel. One evening, Anita and Norbert have a date, but Ines claims that Norbert is in her bedroom. As proof, she plays a tape recording behind a closed door, on which she has secretly recorded a conversation with Norbert earlier. Disappointed, Anita leaves, while Norbert waits for her in vain at the restaurant. When the seven performers point out Ines del Mar’s trick to Norbert, he fires his New Year’s Eve star on the spot. Instead, he offers the performers the chance to put on a circus show for New Year’s Eve. He also travels to the city, convinces Anita that his intentions are sincere, and brings her back to Klostermatt. Meanwhile, Ines del Mar’s manager has arrived and insists that her contract be honored. Ines is going to sing. Anita and the seven performers, however, set up their circus tent right in front of the hotel and draw all the hotel guests to their New Year’s Eve show, leaving Ines del Mar singing to empty seats. The next morning, Anita wants to leave without being recognized and even flees from Norbert, but the seven performers eventually bring the two together to make up. The performers move on, but Norbert’s staff return to him, as their other employers have turned out to be worse.