Wenn süß das Mondlicht auf den Hügeln schläft (1969)

The Pentecost family’s anticipation of the approaching summer vacation is dampened when they receive news that May Pentecost’s brother is in hospital in Bombay. May and her husband, the writer Jocelyn, decide to take in her brother’s three underage children, David, Jenny and Emma, temporarily. Soon after their arrival at the country house, the newcomers cause a stir. While 14-year-old Jenny and her uncle flirt, David’s distant behavior is puzzling. Meanwhile, Pentecost’s hot-tempered son Gaylord is constantly annoyed by the younger, prickly Emma. Bert Foggerty, who once attacked Gaylord with a knife and seriously injured him, has since been released from prison. Although he claims to have turned over a new leaf, the Pentecosts remain suspicious. They forbid their son from associating with Bert and his intellectually disabled brother, Willy. One night, a small hay barn belonging to the Pentecosts, beside the access road to the property, catches fire, but the fire brigade puts it out. Shortly afterward, David, who says he discovered the fire, returns from a late-night walk with his clothes singed. Meanwhile, sticks of dynamite are stolen from a nearby quarry. Willy happens to find some of the stolen goods and, unaware of what they are, hands the “magic sticks” to Gaylord, who is defying his parents’ ban on contact. When David finds out, he takes the explosives. While Peter and his pregnant wife Becky visit to care for Gaylord’s newborn sister Amanda and keep their grandfather company at home, the rest of the family sets off for a seaside vacation. It comes to an abrupt end after a phone call. Worried about her little daughter’s well-being, May drives home with David. Since Emma cannot be found at first, Jocelyn, Jenny and Gaylord stay behind, waiting. Jocelyn eventually decides to spend the night in a hotel so he can follow by train the next morning. After Gaylord and Emma have gone to bed, Jocelyn initially turns down Jenny’s suggestion that they spend the evening together in a beach chair, but then offers to have another glass of wine together. A brief goodnight in the hotel corridor develops into an intense kiss, which is interrupted by Emma’s sudden appearance. The following night, another fire breaks out near the country house. David is caught once again returning from one of his outings, and May confronts him. Later, in front of the relatives, now all gathered together again, he claims that he took the dynamite sticks away from Gaylord for safety reasons. At the same time, the family faces another strain: one of Emma’s many indiscretions, along with Jenny confronting May about her love for Jocelyn, threatens marital harmony. May brings the unhappy teenager back down to earth and questions her husband, who confesses, about the kissing scene at the hotel. A day trip to town together is meant to help reconcile them. Willy, who is wanted by the police, has been missing for some time. David discovers that Gaylord is hiding him out of pity. Under pressure, Willy reveals a planned act of revenge against Jocelyn and May, which Bert intends to carry out with the remaining dynamite at a bridge. David manages to reach the scene in time and get into a fight with Bert. When the police, who have been alerted, arrive, Bert flees. The Pentecosts’ car crosses the bridge without being damaged. Hailed as a hero, David leaves with his two sisters the next day.