''Be True Until Death'' (Hungarian: ''Légy jó mindhalálig'') is a 1936 Hungarian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Steve Sekely Steve Sekely (February 25, 1899 – March 9, 1979) was a Hungarian Jewish film director. Born István Székely, he was known by several names, based on his changing professional and immigration status, including Stefan Szekely. He directed films ...

and starring

Klári Tolnay Klári Tolnay (born Rozália Klára Tolnay; 17 July 1914 – 27 October 1998) was a Hungarian actress. She received the Kossuth Prize in 1951 and 1952. Life Klári Tolnay (born Rózsi Tolnay) was born on 17 July 1914 in Budapest, as the d ...

Kálmán Rózsahegyi Kálmán Rózsahegyi (6 October 1873, in Pest – 27 August 1961) was a Jewish Hungarian actor and teacher. He descended from a family of theatre actors; his father, Ödön Rózsahegyi performed in the countryside. Kálmán Rózsahegyi also be ...

and

Gyula Csortos Gyula József Csortos (3 March 1883 – 1 August 1945) was a Hungarian film and stage actor who appeared in 80 films between 1912 and 1944. He was born in Munkács and died in Budapest. Selected filmography * '' The Red Samson'' (1917) * ...

.Parish & Pitts p.347 It was shot at the

Hunnia Studios Hunnia Film Studio was the largest and most significant sound film studio in Hungary until its nationalization in 1948. Its predecessor, Corvin Film Studio, founded by Alexander Korda in 1917, was the most important Hungarian silent film compa ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

and on location in

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Márton Vincze Márton Vincze (1905– 17 January 1941, Budapest) was a Hungarian art director who designed the sets for over eighty films during his career. Selected filmography * '' The Blue Idol'' (1931) * '' The Old Scoundrel'' (1932) * ''And the Plains Ar ...

. It was based on a 1920 novel of the same name by

Zsigmond Móricz Zsigmond Móricz (; 29 June 1879, Tiszacsécse – 4 September 1942) was a major Hungarian novelist and Social Realist. Biography Zsigmond Móricz was born in Tiszacsécse in 1879 to Bálint Móricz and Erzsébet (). On his mother's sid ...

, later turned into a 1960 film ''

Be True Until Death ''Be True Until Death'' (Hungarian: ''Légy jó mindhalálig'') is a 1936 Hungarian drama film directed by Steve Sekely and starring Klári Tolnay, Kálmán Rózsahegyi and Gyula Csortos.Parish & Pitts p.347 It was shot at the Hunnia Studios in Bu ...

''.

Plot

Mihály "Misi" Nyilas is a student at a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

; while an excellent student, his

introvert Extraversion and introversion are a central trait dimension in human personality theory. The terms were introduced into psychology by Carl Jung, though both the popular understanding and current psychological usage are not the same as Jung's o ...

ed demeanor and

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

background makes him a target of

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...

by classmates and adults alike. To earn money, he regularly visits an elderly blind man Mr. Pósalaky to read him the news; one day, Pósalaky entrusts Misi to bet on some

lottery A lottery (or lotto) is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find som ...

numbers that came to him in a dream. When visiting the Török family, where he used to live, he talks to the son János, and mentions the lottery ticket, but when he leaves, he forgets the lottery ticket with János. When the lottery numbers are drawn, Pósalaky realizes his dream has gotten 4 out of the 5 numbers correct, but Misi can't find the ticket but instead finds 10 forints in his pocket, which he tries to hide from Pósalaky. When the truth comes out, Misi is accused with

theft Theft (, cognate to ) is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shor ...

and selling the ticket. He is summoned in front of a school

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

, where his word is placed against everyone else's, and he is repeatedly humiliated to the point where he denounces the school in anguish, screaming "I don't want to be a student in Debrecen!" The next day, as he is recovering from a fever after the stress he's gone through, he finds out the truth: When visiting János and showing off the ticket, János stole the ticket, and instead snuck the money into Misi's pocket, but eventually admitted everything to the police. Despite his name cleared, Misi is traumatised by the ordeal, and the novel ends with him pondering on his future.

Cast

as Bella, Viola húga *

László Dévényi László () is a Hungarian male given name and surname after the King-Knight Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary (1077–1095). It derives from Ladislav, a variant of Vladislav. The name has a history of being frequently anglicized as Leslie. It is the m ...

as Nyilas Misi *

as Valkay tanár úr *

as Pósalaky úr * Ferenc Kiss as Kollégiumi igazgató *

Imre Ráday Imre Ráday (4 September 1905 – 12 March 1983) was a Hungarian film actor. Ráday was born in Budapest, then part of Austria-Hungary and died in Budapest, Hungary in 1983. Selected filmography * '' The Trial of Donald Westhof'' (1927) * '' Th ...

as Edelényi Török János * Gerö Mály as István bácsi, pedellus *

György Dénes György Dénes (2 July 1898 – 14 April 1962) was a Hungarian stage and film actor.Gagelmann p.73 He appeared in more than forty films during his career. Selected filmography * ''Miss Iza'' (1933) * ''Everything for the Woman'' (1934) * ''The St ...

as Gyéres tanár úr *

Zoltán Makláry Zoltán Makláry (16 April 1896, Budapest – 12 July 1978, Budapest) was a Hungarian stage and film actor. He was awarded the Kossuth Prize. Selected filmography * '' Stars of Eger'' (1923) * '' The Blue Idol'' (1931) * '' Hyppolit, the Bu ...

as Kéményseprõ *

Lajos Gárday Lajos () is a Hungarian masculine given name, cognate to the English Louis. People named Lajos include: Hungarian monarchs: * Lajos I, 1326-1382 (ruled 1342-1382) * Lajos II, 1506-1526 (ruled 1516-1526) In Hungarian politics: * Lajos Aulic ...

as Dorogi *

Zoltán Hosszú Zoltán () is a Hungarian masculine given name. The name days for this name are 8 March and 23 June in Hungary, and 7 April in Slovakia. "Zoli" is the short version of Zoltán. "Zoli" is commonly used. Zoltána is the feminine version. The name i ...

as Nyilas Gábor, Misi apja * László Dezsõffy as Tanár *

Sándor Pethes Sándor Pethes (28 May 1899 – 29 June 1981) was a Hungary, Hungarian actor. He was the cousin of the actor Ferenc Pethes. Selected filmography * ''Rongyosok'' (1925) * ''Átok vára'' (1927) * ''Csak egy kislány van a világon'' (1930) * '' ...

as Tanár *

Kálmán Zátony Kálmán is an ancient Germanic origin Hungarian surname and male given name. Outside Hungary, the name occurs sometimes in the form Kalman. It was derived from the Germanic name: Koloman, Coloman or Kolman. The Germanic name Coloman has been ...

as Juhász tanár úr *

Gusztáv Vándory Gusztáv Vándory (6 December 1882 – 16 November 1964) was a Hungarians, Hungarian stage and film actor. He was born and died in Budapest. Selected filmography * ''Lili (1918 film), Lili'' (1918) * ''Yamata'' (1919) * ''Neither at Home or Abroa ...

as Orvos *

László Földényi László Földényi may refer to: * László F. Földényi (born 1952), Hungarian critic, essayist and art theorist * László Földényi (actor) László Földényi (1895–1960) was a Hungarian stage and film actor. Paietta p.114 He appeared a ...

as Postai hivatalnok *

Gyula Justh Gyula Justh (13 January 1850 – 9 October 1917) was a Hungarian jurist and politician, who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives between 1905 and 1909. Biography He was born in Necpál, Turóc County (today: ''Necpaly, Slova ...

as Tanár *

Ella Gombaszögi Ella Gombaszögi (born Erzsébet Grün; 27 December 1894 – 12 November 1951) was a Hungarian actress. Selected filmography * '' Vorrei morir'' (1918) * ''Romance in Budapest'' (1933) * ''Miss Iza'' (1933) * '' The Ghost Train'' (1933) * ' ...

as Dorogi Viola *

Annie Réthy Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (Malayalam actress) (born 1975), Indian actress who works in Malayalam-language films * A ...

as Ilonka, Edelényi húga * Mária Simonyi as Grófnõ *

Mariska Vízváry Mariska Vízváry (1877–1954) was a Hungarian stage actress, stage and film actress.Kelecsényi p.346 & 352 She was a member of the National Theatre (Budapest), Hungarian National Theatre. She appeared in around forty films during the sound era ...

as Törökné *

Margit Vágóné Margit is a feminine given name, a version of Margaret. People bearing the name include: * Margit of Hungary (1175–1223), Empress consort of Isaac II Angelos, Byzantine Emperor * Saint Margit of Hungary (1242–1271), Hungarian nun and prince ...

as Trafikosnõ * Giza Báthory as Doroginé *

Erzsi Orsolya Erzsi Orsolya (1901–1984) was a Hungarian stage, film and television actress.Székely & Gajdó p.673-75 A character actress, she appeared regularly in supporting roles on screen from the mid-1930s onwards. Selected filmography * '' Be True Unt ...

as Nyilas Gáborné *

Marcsa Simon Marcsa Simon (born Mária Cecília Simon 21 November 1882 – 8 January 1954) was a Hungarian actress. She was born in Tápiószele and died in Budapest. Selected filmography * ''Miska the Magnate'' (1916) * ''St. Peter's Umbrella (1917 film), ...

as Pósalaky házvezetõnõje *

József Juhász József Juhász (4 July 1908 – 24 June 1974) was a Hungarian stage and film actor. He appeared in more than fifty films during his career including '' Marika'' (1938). He emigrated to Canada following the defeat of the Hungarian Revolution ...

as Diák * István Primus as Szobafõnök *

Tibor Puskás Tibor is a masculine Hungarian given name. * Originated shortened form of the medieval Hungarian name ''Tiborc''; which originates from the ancient Latin surname Tiburtius. * from Etruscan name Tibur, which means "honest man" Some notable people ...

as Böszörményi, diák

References

Bibliography

* Juhász, István. ''Kincses magyar filmtár 1931-1944: az eredeti forgatókönyvből 1931 és 1944 között létrejött hazai mozgóképekről''. Kráter, 2007. *Parish, James Robert & Pitts, Michael R. . ''Film Directors: A Guide to their American Films''. Scarecrow Press, 1974. * Rîpeanu, Bujor. (ed.) ''International Directory of Cinematographers, Set- and Costume Designers in Film: Hungary (from the beginnings to 1988)''. Saur, 1981.

External links

* 1936 films Hungarian drama films 1930s Hungarian-language films 1936 drama films Hungarian black-and-white films Films directed by Steve Sekely Films based on Hungarian novels Films shot at Hunnia Studios Films based on works by Zsigmond Móricz {{1930s-Hungary-film-stub