Tausend Takte Übermut (1965)

The record company Melodia is on the verge of bankruptcy. Manfred Reiner is supposed to save the company by signing the well-known schlager star Sherry Davis. But Davis has already turned them down several times in the past. Together with the lawyer Dr. Peter Hold, Manfred sets off for Italy, where Sherry is currently on vacation, to get her to sign a contract. He hopes that by rejecting and ignoring the usually much-admired Sherry, he will surprise her, attract her attention, and eventually win her over as his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Sherry is outraged when she discovers that at her hotel, the “Las Vegas,” extra charges are required for every little thing. She calls the head of the hotel chain, Robert Hilman, to complain, and he decides to go there in person, incognito, to see what is going on. Before leaving, he forbids his son Frank from continuing his relationship with the accountant Michaela Andreas, since she is “not of his station.” Frank decides to change his father’s mind by having Michaela check into the “Las Vegas” under the name “Andrea Michael,” posing as a wealthy guest, so she can get to know him there. As planned, Manfred and Peter snub Sherry when she arrives with her stenographer, Christine. At first their plan seems to work, and after her initial indignation Sherry is willing to go dancing with Manfred. But at the dance she runs into her ex-husband Rick Tanner, who is currently performing as a singer at the “Las Vegas.” The two fall in love with each other again. Meanwhile, the hotel managers learn that Hilman is planning a visit. Since they do not know what he looks like, they fail to recognize Hilman when he checks in under the name Wichtl, and assume that the confident bon vivant Felix Glücklich is their boss. They lavish attention on Glücklich, while Hilman gets only a poorer room in the fully booked hotel. Michaela looks after Hilman, who gradually takes her to his heart. At the beach, Peter meets the telephone operator Gerti Brückner, but mistakes her for the supposedly wealthy Michaela. She does not correct him and instead tries to live up to her new role. They fall in love, even though Peter thinks she is a “playgirl” and tries to reform her ways. When Sherry and Rick go on a romantic trip to Venice, the jealous Manfred follows them. He persuades Gerti to pretend to be his lover, but Sherry does not react jealously. Peter, who has traveled to Venice with Christine, misunderstands Gerti’s claim that she has to go to the hotel for “night duty” and starts keeping his distance from her. Back at the hotel, Manfred confesses to Christine who he really is and explains his original plan to get Sherry to sign a contract, which now seems hopeless because she is in love with Rick. Frank has decided to come to the “Las Vegas” to finally introduce Michaela and his father to each other. A series of mix-ups ensues. For example, he finds Gerti in Michaela’s bed; she had only wanted to keep up the pretense that she was Michaela because Peter was once again on his way to see her—or rather, to Michaela’s hotel room. When Peter, in turn, finds Gerti in a room with Frank, he finally begins to doubt that she loves him. Frank is also confused by now, as he has been told that Michaela is currently out sailing with a Mr. Wichtl and otherwise spends a lot of time with strange men. On a second attempt to meet Michaela in her room, Felix Glücklich turns up there too, though he is actually looking for his wife. Since he is now known as a married playboy and the hotel staff have repeatedly fussed over the wrong man, a chase begins after Felix, who ultimately returns to his wife, remorseful. The couples find one another: Sherry is happy with Rick, who has signed a record deal for both of them with Melodia—he himself was not under contract at the time, and Sherry wanted a man who would make decisions for her. Peter and Gerti, who now reveals her true identity, become a couple, because down-to-earth Peter wanted a down-to-earth woman anyway. Manfred and Christine also get together. After Frank learns that most of the stories about men were actually about Gerti, he makes up with Michaela, who had already won the heart of her future father-in-law long ago.