Schwarzwaldfahrt aus Liebeskummer (1974)

Architect Hannes Cremer has had enough. When his boss asks him to persuade the Klingenberg couple to accept a cheap renovation of their hotel, even though only an expensive renovation would make sense, Hannes tells Breitner exactly what he thinks and quits. Since he is also dating Breitner’s daughter, Janine, he ends that relationship too and sets off for Seebruck in the Black Forest to stay with his grandfather, hoping to leave everything behind. Meanwhile, friends Renate, Ilse, Mucki, and Babs are also traveling through the Black Forest. They are cycling to visit their friend Eva, who is getting married in Wendlingen. Renate, however, was difficult to persuade to come along because her fiancé secretly married someone else. On the way, Hannes and the four women meet by chance, but they soon go their separate ways again. In Seebruck, Hannes meets not only his grandfather but also his young cousin Annie, who is spending the holidays with her grandfather because her mother is ill. The grandfather has sold his two horses to the farmer Schwarzer in Langenbach—supposedly because, at his advanced age, they are too much trouble for him. At his grandfather’s request, Hannes sets off with Annie in the horse-drawn cart to take the horses to Mr. Schwarzer. Along the way, they meet the four young women again. They are looking for somewhere to stay, and Hannes sends them to Farmer Räbele’s. Although Hannes and Annie have been warned about Räbele by the grandfather, they also stop there, where a celebration is underway and the season’s new cherry schnapps is being sampled. A romance begins to develop between Hannes and Renate, who is training to be a veterinarian, even though Renate is not yet ready for a new relationship. Hannes, Annie, and the four friends travel part of the way in the horse-drawn cart. This allows Renate to help when a horse is injured in an accident at a nearby farm. After the successful treatment, Renate and Hannes grow closer—until Janine suddenly turns up looking for Hannes. Renate misreads the situation and leaves on her own. Hannes tells Janine that their relationship is over. Janine’s father is also looking for Hannes by now: the Klingenbergs have agreed to an expensive renovation of their hotel, provided Hannes is in charge of it. They catch up with Hannes, who has meanwhile learned that Renate is in Todtmoos. He borrows his boss’s car and drives to Todtmoos, only to see Renate embracing another man. The man is Harry, a fashion photographer who accidentally knocked Renate over and then took her to the nearest inn, supporting her as they went. Disappointed, Hannes drives back to Annie and the horses. He tells his friend Uwe, a carpenter who has come from Hamburg to the Black Forest, that things are over between him and Renate. Annie, who has grown fond of Renate, overhears him. She goes to Todtmoos alone and gets lost in the forest. Hannes, Uwe, and Renate set out together to search for her and eventually find her. The next day, Renate has a photo shoot with Harry, so she misses an appointment with Hannes, who is now convinced once and for all that their relationship is over. Ilse, Mucki, and Babs have meanwhile arrived in Wendlingen to visit Eva, the bride-to-be. The skirt for her wedding dress is still missing: it was ordered but never delivered. Mr. Zwicker, who is supposed to bring the skirt, has a breakdown and is picked up by Hannes, Annie, and the horse-drawn cart. Together, they take the skirt to Eva, where Hannes hopes to see Renate again. But Renate has gone straight to the wedding church with Harry. She and Hannes finally meet there, and they clear up all the misunderstandings. Hannes has meanwhile learned that his grandfather did not want to sell the horses; he did so because he needed money. He paid for Annie’s mother’s treatment and went into debt to Farmer Schwarzer. Hannes asks his boss for the money as a donation, in return for agreeing to work for him again. The grandfather gets his horses back, and Hannes and Renate become a couple at last.