Three Men in the Snow

Three Men in the Snow (German: Drei Männer im Schnee) is a 1974 German comedy film directed by Alfred Vohrer and starring Klaus Schwarzkopf, Roberto Blanco and Thomas Fritsch. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same title by Erich Kästner. Plot The wealthy and eccentric Tobler, a Geheimrat and owner of various businesses, enters and wins a competition started by one of his businesses. Using the pseudonym, Schlüter, he wins the second prize: a ten-day stay at the luxurious Grand Hotel in Bruckbeuren in the Alps. The first prize is won by Dr. Fritz Hagedorn, an unemployed copywriter, who lives with his widowed mother and scrapes by on occasional work. Before claiming the prize, Tobler transforms himself into Schlüter and assumes the persona of a poor man. His intention is to carry out a sociological study. Tobler buys old, worn-out, tattered clothes, and manages to pass himself off as destitute. However, as a Geheimrat, he is both practical and pragmatic, and seeks to assure that he still retains access to his everyday luxuries. Thus, he orders his butler, Johann Kesselhut, to take accommodations at same hotel acting as a wealthy man and forbidden to recognize his master.