''Christian'' ( cs, Kristián) 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, Fri ...

. The film is based on a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

play by

Yvan Noé Yvan Noé (1895–1963) was a French playwright, screenwriter and film director.Driskell p.146 He was married to the actress Pierrette Caillol who sometimes performed alongside him. Selected filmography * '' Gloria'' (1931) * '' Mademoiselle Mozar ...

. It is in the style of American screwball comedies such as ''

The Lady Eve ''The Lady Eve'' is a 1941 American screwball comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda.

'' 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 1923 play ''The Awful Truth'' by Arthur Richman, the film recounts how a distrustful rich couple begins d ...

''.

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 Oldřich Nový (7 August 1899, in Prague – 15 March 1983, in Prague) was a Czech film and theatre actor, director, composer, dramaturg and singer. He is considered one of the greatest actors of the Czech cinema in the first half of the 20th c ...

as Alois Novák alias Kristián *

Nataša Gollová Nataša Gollová (27 February 1912 – 29 October 1988) was a Czechoslovak film and stage actress. Life She was born Nataša Hodáčová in Brno on 27 February 1912. Her father was a politician František Xaver Hodáč. She chose her art na ...

as Marie Nováková *

Raoul Schránil Raoul Marian Kristian Schránil (24 March 1910 – 20 September 1998) was a Czech film actor. Life Schránil was born in Most on 24 March 1910. His father Rudolf Schránil was a government secretary. His mother Alexandra Poláková was a singer ...

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 Iara ( hu, Alsójára; german: Jahren) is a commune in the southern part of Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of thirteen villages: Agriș (''Ruhaegres''), Borzești (''Berkes''), Buru (''Borrév''), Cacova Ierii (''Aranyosivánfa ...

as Travel agent Josef Novotný *

Anna Steimarová Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

as Marie's aunt *

Jaroslav Marvan Jaroslav Marvan (11 December 1901 – 21 May 1974) was a Czech actor. He was born in Prague. He was married since the 1920s with Marie Marvanová and had a daughter (Alena Marvanová) with Alena Jančaříková. He passed his school-leaving ...

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'' (1926) * ''Prague Seamstresses'' (1929) * ''Sin of a Beautiful Woman ...

as Dandy with a handkerchief *

Josef Belský Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) Josef is the surname of the following people: * Jens Josef (born 1967), German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher * Michelle Josef (born 1954), Canadian musician and tr ...

as Manager of the "Orient" bar *

František Paul František () is a masculine given name of Czech origin. It is a cognate of Francis, Francisco, François, and Franz. People with the name include: * Frank Daniel (František Daniel) (1926–1996), Czech film director, producer, and screenwrit ...

as Waiter Robert *

Jan W. Speerger Jan Wenceslaus Speerger (29 April 1896 – 25 June 1950) was a Czech film actor and film director. He appeared in many Czech movies in the first half of the 20th century. Life He started as a cinema projectionist and later worked as a technician ...

as Barman

Production

The film is based on a play by

. 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

were cut from the film, because he emigrated in 1948.

wanted to collaborate with

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian 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