Symphonie in Gold (1956)

Charles Bierwirth, the owner of an ice revue, has a problem: the two leading stars of his show have quit at short notice. At the suggestion of Susi Hagedorn, who believes in horoscopes, Charles decides to give young Eva a chance as a pairs skater in the revue. Until now, Eva has been the thirteenth revue girl from the right, and she is now supposed to find a partner. She hopes to find one among the competitors at the upcoming European Figure Skating Championships. The star of the championships is the skater Bill Johnson, but Eva cannot get close to him. Instead, she meets Walter Gerlos, from the small village of Arlberg, where he trains in figure skating with a group during the winter months, but otherwise works as a woodcarver. Eva does not know that he will also compete in the championships, and is very surprised when she finally sees him on the ice. Magnus Mispel, a reporter for the Kleine Sportblatt, is the only one who believes Walter can succeed. Walter finishes fourth, and Bill wins. Walter would be good enough—and inexpensive enough—for Charles Bierwirth’s revue, but Charles turns him down. As a revue skater, Walter would be a professional and would no longer be allowed to compete in the championships, which are reserved for amateurs. Frustrated, he retreats to his village, believing that only the poor training conditions are responsible for his failure. Soon afterward, Magnus Mispel visits Walter in the village, hoping to interview him for a human-interest feature. Walter tells him about his troubles: he has to work to finance his sport, has nowhere to train in the summer, and has no money for good coaches. A well-paid revue engagement would solve everything, but then Walter would no longer be considered an amateur. Mispel, who continues to believe in Walter, has a solution: Walter starts performing in revues wearing a mask and earning money anonymously as Mr. X. Mr. X soon appears in ice revues all over Europe and becomes a great success, especially since the press cannot discover his identity. Walter appears in public as the mysterious Mr. X’s secretary, while Mispel holds the exclusive rights to articles about Mr. X. Charles Bierwirth is very interested in hiring Mr. X for his revue. Walter agrees, but imposes strict conditions. Among other things, Mr. X is to have an artificial ice rink to himself in the mornings, and his anonymity must be protected at all costs. Walter meets Eva again and arranges for her to train with Mr. X. At first, Eva thinks Mr. X is only interested in money, but after a training session she finds him likable. Even so, she cannot understand why Walter is not training for the upcoming championships. Walter, however, has realized that some of his training companions in Arlberg are more talented than he is. He secretly arranges for them to be brought to him and have them train at Charles Bierwirth’s rink with a professional coach. He discreetly monitors their progress and urges them to be disciplined. At the same time, he trains with Eva as Mr. X, and as Walter he becomes jealous when Eva gives Mr. X admiring looks. He confronts her, and the two part in anger. Magnus Mispel intervenes and tells Eva that Walter and Mr. X are the same person. At the closing revue, the two figure skaters make up. The village coach, Anton Koriander, has also long since noticed that Mr. X makes the same figure-skating mistakes Walter used to make, but he does not expose him. Charles Bierwirth also tells Anton that Mr. X was the anonymous benefactor who made it possible for his protégés to train. Walter’s efforts pay off: in the end, his former training partner from Arlberg, the up-and-coming skater Hans, beats the favored Bill Johnson at the championships.