Zwei in einem Auto (1951)

Elementary schoolteacher August Brösecke and school caretaker Ferdinand Walzl have been playing Toto together for years. Now they get lucky and hit the twelve-match jackpot—but since more than 100 other players have had the same luck, they can only just manage to fulfill their dream of owning a car. The vehicle is nearly a wreck, and in the end they do not even have enough money to replace its two flat tires and buy petrol for a planned holiday trip to Portofino. August Brösecke therefore places an ad: he is looking for a travel companion who will pay for the tires and petrol in exchange for the ride. The young Lisa Krüger responds; she, too, has won the lottery. Because of a case of mistaken identity, Lisa assumes that the attractive Georg Schmittlein is August Brösecke. Georg, a famous racing driver, also needs to go to Portofino for a race and takes a liking to Lisa, so he does not clear up the misunderstanding and instead travels with her to Italy as August Brösecke. Georg now has to act the part of a modestly living elementary schoolteacher in front of Lisa, which is all the harder because his wealthy friend Mario and his almost-fiancée Rosita are already waiting for him in Portofino. In the end, both of them play along, and at an elegant hotel Mario instructs the staff to quote lower prices to the man checking in as August Brösecke, since Lisa is very thrifty and would never stay at an expensive hotel. Georg, for his part, does not want to give up his luxuries. However, the real August Brösecke arrives at the hotel first, together with Ferdinand, and is delighted by the low prices. Only the next day do they learn that they have been mistaken for someone else and must pay the full prices, which are ten times higher. Lisa clears up the confusion when she calls the hotel and asks to be connected to “her” Mr. Brösecke, only to be put through to the real one. She now thinks Georg is a charming con man, and he wants to know how much she loves him. He pretends the police are already looking for him and flees with Lisa by car into a forest. They spend the night in the car. The next morning Georg has disappeared, but he lets Lisa know that he had to go to a motor race. August and Ferdinand have spent the night in the forest, too. They had followed Lisa and Georg in their car, then gone off the road and only come to a stop over a precipice. The car is wrecked, but the two men meet Lisa in the morning, and she takes them to the race. Georg wins, and Lisa finally realizes who she has had in front of her all along. The two drive off together, in love. August and Ferdinand get a happy ending, too: Ferdinand has filled out another Toto ticket and won again, so the two men can pay off their debts and dream of owning a car once more.