''On the Sunny Side'' ( cs, Na sluneční straně) is a 1933 Czech
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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
by the director
Vladislav Vančura
Vladislav Vančura () (23 June 1891 in Háj ve Slezsku – 1 June 1942 in Prague) was an important Czech writer active in the 20th century, who was murdered by the Nazis. He was also active as a film director, playwright and screenwriter.
Early ...
. The film is a social drama dealing with the themes of children poverty and neglect.
Plot
Babula is growing up in a rich family, but she's neglected by her parents. She's friends with a son of her family's maid, Honza. When Honza and his mother are thrown out by Babula's father, the two children perform on the streets to earn money. They get arrested and Honza is sent to a children's home 'On the Sunny Side'. Babula's mother tries to commit suicide and Alžběta is sent to the same place. In the children's home their lives get better under the influence of their progressive teacher.
Jindřich Plachta
Jindřich Plachta, born Jindřich Šolle (1 July 1899 – 6 November 1951) was a Czechoslovak film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1926 and 1951.
Selected filmography
* '' The Lovers of an Old Criminal'' (1927)
* '' Fathe ...
as Teacher
*
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 Wom ...
as Counsellor
*
Růžena Šlemrová
Růžena Šlemrová, née Růžena Machová (10 November 1886 – 24 August 1962) was a Czechoslovak film actress. She appeared in more than 70 films between 1914 and 1956.
Selected filmography
* '' Two Mothers'' (1921)
* '' Affair at the ...
Vančura was a Marxist and his ideas for the movie were influenced by a Russian educator
Anton Makarenko
Anton Semenovich Makarenko ( ua , Анто́н Семенович Мака́ренко, 13 January 1888 – 1 April 1939), a Ukrainian and Soviet educator, social worker and writer, became the most influential educational theorist in the ...
. The screenplay was written by an avantgarde writer
Vítězslav Nezval
Vítězslav Nezval (; 26 May 1900 – 6 April 1958) was a Czech poet, writer and translator. He was one of the most prolific avant-garde Czech writers in the first half of the 20th century and a co-founder of the Surrealist movement in Czechos ...
, a literary theorist
Roman Jakobson
Roman Osipovich Jakobson (russian: Рома́н О́сипович Якобсо́н; October 11, 1896Kucera, Henry. 1983. "Roman Jakobson." ''Language: Journal of the Linguistic Society of America'' 59(4): 871–883. – July 18,Miloslav Disman. The film was shot in the streets of
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
. The children's home scenes were shot at
Zbraslav Monastery
The Cistercian Abbey of Zbraslav ( la, Aula Regia, cs, Zbraslavský klášter) located in Zbraslav near Prague (today part of Prague) was one of the most significant monasteries of the Cistercian Order in the Kingdom of Bohemia (present-day Czech ...
.
Release
The premiere was held in Prague on 1 December 1933. The film was received negatively by film critics. The reviews mentioned amateurish direction and technical qualities of the movie. In 2017 the film was screened at MoMA as a part of Czech cinema retrospective 'Ecstasy and Irony: Czech
Cinema, 1927–1943'.