Der Mädchenhirt

Egon Erwin Kisch and his works had been projected into film in various forms since the 1910s. This is a very successful film, and the shift in narrative possibilities and the overall more thoughtful work of all involved stand out even more compared to the older version of the film. Fuetterer is ably seconded by Czech actors - Rovenský and Svobodová as his parents, the charming Ly Corelli (who reads a newspaper with Anny Ondra on the cover), and the wonderful Zdena Listová and the lovely Lili Šturmová as his girls. Antonie Nedošinská then repeated her role as the brothel owner in Tonka of the Gallows the very next year, each time performing a very interestingly varied etude. Saša Dobrovolná was only routine, and the same goes for Vladimír Majer. Interestingly, the misfortune that first inspired Kisch happened in 1898, with the first novella published in a newspaper in 1911, and the novel version in 1914. The filmmakers, as they often did, adjusted the time of the story to their own present. It is a historical misfortune that the premiere of the film was not set until May 1930, when the sound film was already in full swing. (21.02.2009)