Verlobung am Wolfgangsee

The Eckberg family is getting together for a big revelation. Sons Michael and Knut are traveling with musicians, meaning that the first musical interlude gets out of the way pretty quickly. Daughter Gabriele is already on a raft at Wolfgangsee, amusing daddy with silly frog impressions. But when all the pieces are in place, the truth can be revealed: Herr und Frau Eckberg have been lying to their happy family for the last 21 years. They start to explain (rather tactlessly) how mother Sigrid bore a girl out of wedlock before she even met daddy Erich. Almost as an afterthought they mention that the two boys were the product of Erich's first wife, whom nobody ever bothered to mention before. After the confused youngsters spent a sleepless night contemplating, daddy dearest proposes to spend a week on vacation (as if they weren't already) to clear their minds.

Neither of the parental deceivers seems to be bothered by the lasting harm they have just caused their respective offspring. Instead they pass the time serenading each other with love songs. The children soon develop some pretty disgusting ideas of their own, but since this is a family film from the fifties (when nice girls did not go all the way) and based on a play ("Shofienland") to boot, they never get beyond some thinly veiled innuendo. One of the boys takes the opportunity to get closer to his alleged mom while the other one is developing a crush on his so called sister, who prefers flirting with her former father. Both Knut and Michael also take time to wonder whatever happened to their real mom. This film proves any dysfunctional family can sort things out simply by talking it over and having a formal dinner party. Who needs psychiatrists anyway?

3 out of 10