Basically filmed in the stage-style, but as an "underplay", almost the whole story takes place in a side-street of Seefeldstrasse in Zurich, not far away from Tiefenbrunnen where the terminal station and the depot for the Zürich tramway of Line 4 is. One of the drivers is father Wieser who has to nourish three children (Helen, Eva, and Herbert). While Helen has changed Europe with America in order to follow a rich US-millionaire, Evi seems to be the only one to have resisted successfully her bossy mother who "only wants the best for their children". But things change quickly. The first big "disappointment" for mother Wieser is Evi (played by a tremendously attractive Bella Neri), who instead of pursuing her career as an opera singer, prefers her freedom as a tea-room server and enters a relationship to a Yougoslavian bar-pianist. The second "diappointment" happens when Herbert, ongoing physician who regularly faints while seeing blood, discloses to his mother that he wants to leave the university. But not enough with "so much sadness", suddenly, the "American" daughter rings the bell, accompanied by her little son. While the mother still believes that Helen just makes a short visit in order to introduce the child to his grand'ma, Helen confesses her younger sister Evi that her American millionaire never married her, that the child is a Bastard (so the official term in 1962's Switzerland), and that she had to labor three years in cheap coffee shops and bars in order to collect the money for the air-plane ticket. When the mother finally learns about the true story concerning Helen - out of the mouth of the plumber Erich to whom Helen was engaged before the mother destroyed their relationship - she throws her children out of the house telling them that she won't open her door even when they come kneeling and begging. The Fate with slightly religious background always being present in Kurt Früh's movies, the Big Remedy comes when father Wieser tries to commit suicide. He was originally elected for the great honor to drive the jubilee's tramway through Zurich when suddenly a malign glaucoma is detected in his eyes. Incapable of telling his wife the truth, he decides to drive the tram anyway and --- jumps the rails. His son Herbert who happens to be In Loco, is able to save the life of a car driver which the father hit with his tramway. This experience confirms Herbert to still going on with his studies of medicine. After the father's recovering from attempted suicide - he confused the similarly looking Valium tablets with laxative - mother Wieser finally awakes to be a better human being (people can change - a fundamental message from Kurt Früh, although mostly they must go through hell for the sake of the clearing). Freedom enters the family, and even the new boyfriend Sandro of Helen dares visiting his future step-parents. (The sudden appearance of his shadow before the door, playing his clarinet, and the performance of "balance" belongs to the high-lights of film history.) "Im Parterre Links" (1963) which marks the end of Früh's career in "classical style" Swiss movies, is an extremely underrated, consistently falsely judged and in general misunderstood gem that belongs to be restored and engraved in DVD. It is a true highlight with a star crew including Paul Bühlmann and Valerie Steinmann as the parents, Rene Scheibli, Bella Neri and Ursula Kopp as the children and Joseph Scheidegger as the plumber.
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