Sieben Jahre Glück (1942)

The story continues from Seven Years of Bad Luck, which ends, among other things, with the young writer Heinz Kersten relieving his servant and friend Paul Griebling of all his duties. Another seven years pass before Paul and Heinz, who has withdrawn to the solitude of the woods to write, meet again. Kersten gives in to Paul’s pleas and takes him back on as his “good soul.” Kersten says that, whereas he once blamed his seven-year run of bad luck on Paul’s clumsiness and the broken mirror, he has enjoyed nothing but good luck over the past seven years. Not far from the two men, aspiring young author Hella Jüttner has checked into an inn. She has just published her first successful novel and can hardly stop counting her money. After the two meet, Paul persuades Hella that she would be better off depositing her money in a bank, and is happy to help her do so. On the way into town to the bank, Paul runs into his old friend, the veterinarian Dr. Teisinger. This marks the beginning of a long run of bad luck, this time for Paul. First he falls into the river while fishing; as a result, he then comes down with an ear infection and has to seek treatment. The specialist blocks Paul’s ears for several hours, so his friend August becomes his ears. This leads to chaos: when they enter the bank where Paul intends to deposit Hella’s book earnings, neither of them realizes that a robbery is in progress. Completely deaf, Paul mistakes the two bank robbers for employees and, in his simple-mindedness, hands them Hella’s money. The criminals make their getaway. The police, arriving shortly afterward, mistake Paul and August for the bank robbers and arrest them. It is only at the station that the misunderstanding is cleared up, and the two unlucky fellows, August and Paul, are released. Now Paul has to explain to poor Hella, who has just become friends with Heinz, that the money from her book sales entrusted to him is gone. She is furious, leaves her hotel, and moves into a new place, the Savoy Hotel. Heinz wants to help Hella, who is now penniless, and asks his publisher for an advance on his next book. The two meet again at the Savoy and fall in love. Meanwhile, Paul does everything he can to recover the money Hella lost through his fault; he even takes a job as a bullfighter. By chance, Paul and August run into the two bank robbers again the following day. To avoid being caught red-handed by the police, the robbers had hidden the stolen money in the lining of Paul’s jacket during the robbery. Paul and August turn up some stolen pieces of jewelry and intend to hand them in to the police, with the two crooks constantly on their trail. Then Hella’s money is finally found in Paul’s jacket, and the police are able to arrest the bank robbers at last. Hella gets her money back, and she and Heinz finally become a couple.