Svatopluk Innemann (18 February 1896 – 30 October 1945) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...

and actor. He was one of the pioneers of Czech cinema.

Biography and works

Innemann, was a son of the Czech director Rudolf Innemann and opera singer Ludmila Lvová-Innemannová. He was born in Slovenia during their engagement, but was raised in Prague, where he studied to be a pork butcher. Around 1918 he became interested in film, and began to work as a camera operator. As cameraman, he co-created his first film with

Otto Heller Otto Heller, B.S.C. (8 March 1896 – 19 February 1970) was a Czech cinematographer long resident in the United Kingdom. He worked on more than 250 films, including ''Richard III'' (1955), '' The Ladykillers'' (1955) and '' Peeping Tom'' (1960) ...

. From 1919 he worked independently. Innemann's early career was varied; he was involved in

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its ...

comedies Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...

and

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...

s, short films and documentaries, often as cameraman. He made his directorial debut in

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s with the fairy-tale '' Little Red Riding-hood'' in 1920. In 1925 he directed the popular comedy '' From the Czech Mills'' and made a biographical film about

Josef Kajetán Tyl Josef Kajetán Tyl (4 February 180811 July 1856; ) was a significant Czech dramatist, writer, and actor. He was a notable figure in the Czech National Revival movement and is best known as the author of the current national anthem of the Czech R ...

, an important personality of the

Czech National Revival The Czech National Revival was a cultural movement which took place in the Czech lands during the 18th and 19th centuries. The purpose of this movement was to revive the Czech language, culture and national identity. The most prominent figures o ...

. In 1927 he directed '' The Lovers of an Old Criminal'', starring the Czech actor

Vlasta Burian Josef Vlastimil Burian, better known as Vlasta Burian, (9 April 1891, in Liberec – 31 January 1962, in Prague) was an internationally renowned Czechoslovak film and stage actor, singer, comedian, footballer and film director. In the Czech Repu ...

. He directed a total of 16 silent films: in 1931 he directed his first

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...

, ''Poslední bohém'' (The Last Bohemian), about the Czech writer

Jaroslav Hašek Jaroslav Hašek (; 1883–1923) was a Czech writer, humorist, satirist, journalist, bohemian and anarchist. He is best known for his novel '' The Fate of the Good Soldier Švejk during the World War'', an unfinished collection of farcical inci ...

, and made the popular comedy ''Muži v offsidu'' (Men in Offside) with

Hugo Haas Hugo Haas (19 February 1901 – 1 December 1968) was a Czech film actor, director and writer. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1926 and 1962, as well as directing 20 films between 1933 and 1962. Life and career Haas was born in B ...

in the title role. It remains popular in the Czech Republic. The 1932 film ''Před maturitou'', made in cooperation with the Czech writer Vladislav Vančura, is considered Innemann's second creative peak. In 1933, he directed the

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

''Vražda v Ostrovní ulici'', the first film to be made in the

Barrandov Studios Barrandov Studios is a set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Several major Hollywood productions have been made here, including '' Mission Impossible'', ' ...

. His film career ended in 1937 with ''Švanda dudák'', based on a theme by Josef Kajetán Tyl. Later, during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, he intended to perform his own play with very controversial topic (he tried to portray German leader

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

Motl (2006), p. 249), but from 1940 had to undergo treatments for a mental disorder. He was one of the very few Czech filmmakers who claimed German citizenship during the

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia; cs, Protektorát Čechy a Morava; its territory was called by the Nazis ("the rest of Czechia"). was a partially annexed territory of Nazi Germany established on 16 March 1939 following the German oc ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Innemann cooperated with the ambitious Czech director and Nazi collaborator

Václav Binovec Václav Binovec (12 September 1892 – 29 February 1976, in Prague) was a Czech film director, screenwriter, and occasional actor. He was often referred to under the pseudonyms of Willy Bronx or W. Bronx, and also V. Vabin. Binovec set up the fil ...

. At the war's end, Innemann's wartime activities were investigated. He died on 30 October 1945 at his home in Klecany, near Prague, with the investigation incomplete.Motl (2006), p. 249

Filmography

Director

*''

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Bro ...

'' (1920) *''Zelený automobil'' (1921) *''Komptoiristka'' (1922) *''Venoušek a Stázička'' (1922) *''Buď připraven'' (1925) *'' From the Czech Mills'' (1925) *''Josef Kajetán Tyl'' (1925) *''Švejk v ruském zajetí'' (1926) *'' Lásky Kačenky Strnadové'' (1926) *'' Falešná kočička'' (1926) *'' The Lovers of an Old Criminal'' (1927) *'' Prague at Night'' (1927) *''Ve dvou se to lépe táhne'' (1928) *''Neviňátka'' (1929) *''Plukovník Švec'' (1929) - director *''Tchán Kondelík a zeť Vejvara'' (1929) *''Fidlovačka'' (1930) *''

Muži v offsidu ''Muži v offsidu'' is a 1931 Czechoslovak sports comedy film directed by Svatopluk Innemann, based on a novel by Karel Poláček. Production Karel Poláček's comedic novel was a bestseller in Czechoslovakia. The movie was made only because ...

'' (1931) *''Třetí rota'' (1931) *''Karel Havlíček Borovský'' (1931) *''Poslední bohém'' (1931) *'' Psohlavci'' (1931) *''Malostranští mušketýři'' (1932) *''Sňatková kancelář'' (1932) *''Před maturitou'' (1932) *''Písničkář'' (1932) *''Šenkýřka "U divoké krásy"'' (1932) *''Drž je!'' (1933) *''Vůně domova'' (1933) *''Prodaná nevěsta'' (1933) *''Skřivánčí píseň'' (1933) *''Vražda v Ostrovní ulici'' (1933) *''U Svatého Antoníčka'' (1933) *''Hudba srdci'' (1934) *''Z bláta do louže'' (1934) *''Tři kroky od těla'' (1934) *''Sextánka'' (1936) *''Arme kleine Inge'' (1936) *''Tvoje srdce inkognito'' (1936) *''Bílý cíl'' (1937) *''Švanda Dudák'' (1937)

Cinematographer

*''Československý Ježíšek'' (1918) *''Aloisův los'' (1918) *''Akord smrti'' (1919) *''Láska je utrpením'' (1919) *''Divoká Marina'' (1919) *''Boby nesmí kouřit'' (1919) *''Utrpením ke slávě'' (1919) *''Dáma s malou nožkou'' (1919) *''Vzteklý ženich'' (1919) *''Zlatá žena'' (1920 *''Šílený lékař'' (1920) *''Sněženky'' (1920) *''Za svobodu národa'' (1920) *''Za čest vítězů'' (1920) *''Magdalena'' (1920) *''Děvče ze stříbrné hranice'' (1921) *''Jak Vašíček přišel k nohám'' (1921) *''Závěť podivínova'' (1923) *''Lešetínský kovář'' (1924) *'' The Lantern'' (1925) *''Okovy'' (1925)

Actor

*''Byl první máj'' (1919) *''Dáma s malou nožkou'' (1919)

Notes

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Innemann, Svatopluk 1896 births 1945 deaths Film people from Ljubljana Czech film directors Czech cinematographers Czech screenwriters Male screenwriters Silent film directors Czech male film actors Czech male silent film actors 20th-century Czech male actors Czech film editors 20th-century screenwriters Czech collaborators with Nazi Germany