Overview
1831. A village schoolteacher Matthias Spitzbart dreams of the ideal school and writes a textbook on the perfect educational institution. When he becomes principal of a grammar school by chance, he puts his ideas into practice. His almost missionary-like zeal blossoms in wondrous ways, but his family idyll is deceptive. Entangled in his activities, Spitzbart fails to see his wife's affair with pro-rector Mehlmann, daughter Friederike flirts with the trainee teacher, and son Michael's misdeeds are enough to make a mockery of his efforts at exemplary behavior. Teachers, parents and the mayor are of the opinion that he has upset everything that worked before: he is dismissed...
Cast
- Otto Mellies as Schulmeister Spitzbart
- Simone von Zglinicki as Frau Spitzbart
- Antje Straßburger
- Peter Borgelt as Lehrer Peuker
- Michael Gerber
- Günter Junghans as Lehrer Mehlmann
- Harry Merkel as Senf
- Hans Jochen Röhrig as Lehrer Dreyer
- Eva Schäfer
- Dietrich Körner