''Christian'' () is a 1939 Czechoslovak comedy film directed by

Martin Frič Martin Frič (29 March 1902 – 26 August 1968) was a Czech film director, screenwriter and actor. He had more than 100 directing credits between 1929 and 1968, including feature films, shorts and documentary films. Throughout his life, F ...

. The film is based on a French play by Yvan Noé. It is in the style of American screwball comedies such as '' The Lady Eve'' and ''

The Awful Truth ''The Awful Truth'' is a 1937 American screwball comedy film directed by Leo McCarey, and starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. Based on the 1922 play ''The Awful Truth'' by Arthur Richman, the film recounts a distrustful rich couple who begin ...

''.

Plot

Alois Novák is an uninspired clerk married to Marie. He lives a boring life and wants to feel adventure. Once in a month he attends Orient bar disguised as a rich traveller Kristian and seduces beautiful and elegant women and then leaves them broken-hearted. One day he meets Zuzana. She sees through his game and doesn't let herself be fooled. She starts to search for him which leads to many comical situations. She eventually finds him and makes Novák to return to reality. Novák leaves his Kristián persona but becomes a more confident person and more loving husband for his wife.

Cast

* Oldřich Nový as Alois Novák alias Kristián * Nataša Gollová as Marie Nováková * Raoul Schránil as Fred * Bedřich Veverka as Petr *

Adina Mandlová Adina Mandlová (28 January 1910 – 16 June 1991) was a Czech stage and film actress. She was one of the leading stars of 1930s and 1940s Czech cinema. She was involved in a number of scandals and love affairs. Life and career Early days Sh ...

as Fred's fiancée Zuzana Rendlová * Jára Kohout as Travel agent Josef Novotný * Anna Steimarová as Marie's aunt * Jaroslav Marvan as Travel agency manager Král *

Čeněk Šlégl Čeněk Šlégl (30 September 1899 – 17 February 1970) was a Czech film actor. He appeared in 68 films between 1919 and 1941. Selected filmography * ''Never the Twain (film), Never the Twain'' (1926) * ''Prague Seamstresses'' (1929) * '' ...

as Dandy with a handkerchief * Josef Belský as Manager of the "Orient" bar * František Paul as Waiter Robert * Jan W. Speerger as Barman

Production

The film is based on a play by Yvan Noé. Shooting of the film took 23 days and cost 675,000 Kčs. The film premiered on 8 September 1939. In real life, the actresses who played Zuzana and Novák's wife were friends, and during World War II they competed for the affections of the producer Willy Söhnel.

Release

The film premiered on 8 September 1939. It remained in cinemas for 5 weeks. The film was re-released in theatres in 1951, but all scenes featuring Jára Kohout were cut from the film, because he emigrated in 1948. Oldřich Nový wanted to collaborate with

on a sequel called ''Christian Returns''. Nový even wrote a screenplay with his wife.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1939 films 1939 comedy films Czechoslovak black-and-white films Czechoslovak comedy films 1930s Czech-language films Czech comedy films Czech black-and-white films Films directed by Martin Frič