Schwarzwaldmelodie (1956)

Susanne loves Hans, a poor composer, but for practical reasons gets engaged to the wealthy Herbert Olberg: her father, a maker of musical clocks, owes him money. Because a farmhand is careless, a fire destroys the barn and the entire stock of the clockmaking workshop. Hans is suspected of arson. He had dedicated the song “Black Forest Melody” to Susanne, and, out of disappointed love, leaves with the Roland Circus for New York. He knows nothing about the arrest warrant issued for him on suspicion of arson. The three vagabonds Lerche, Aribert, and Luggi join Hans. They had heard him sing “Black Forest Melody” in a church in the Black Forest, immediately added the song to their repertoire, and happened by chance to encounter a record producer, who had heard them playing it outside his window. He thought the melody was an old folk song and spontaneously recorded a record with the three musicians. In New York, the circus gives its first performance, but a hurricane that hits the city shortly afterward destroys the circus tent. The animals are in danger of being sold. Lerche, Aribert, and Luggi accidentally take part in a car race, win, and receive a $1,000 prize, which can be used to buy feed. A major publicity campaign in American newspapers eventually saves the circus from ruin. Hans and Harriet Morton, an American, become a couple—her father, among other things, trades in musical clocks from the Black Forest. Like the three singers, Hans soon becomes homesick, and so he visits a Bavarian tavern in New York, where suddenly his “Black Forest Melody” is played on a record. Hans makes inquiries and learns that the song has become a hit without his knowledge. The three vagabonds had laid the groundwork with their recording of the song. Hans asserts his copyright and comes into money. When he learns in a letter that his mother is unwell, he immediately returns to the Black Forest. There he discovers that it is not his mother who is unwell, but the clockmaking workshop, which is only slowly recovering from the fire. Hans has brought Harriet and her father with him, and her father promptly orders 60,000 musical clocks from Susanne’s father. Hans is arrested because of the old warrant, but is soon released when the real culprit turns himself in to the police. Since Susanne is going to marry Herbert Olberg in 14 days, Hans meets with her one last time to say goodbye. Herbert watches them, sees how difficult it is for them to part, and realizes that he will never be the right man for Susanne. He breaks off the engagement, thereby giving his consent to a relationship between Susanne and Hans, who now become a couple.