''Skeleton on Horseback'' aka ''The White Disease'' ( cs, Bílá nemoc) is a 1937 Czechoslovak drama film directed by and starring

Hugo Haas Hugo Haas (19 February 1901 – 1 December 1968) was a Czech film actor, director and writer. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1926 and 1962, as well as directing 20 films between 1933 and 1962. Life and career Haas was born in B ...

. It revolves around an infectious disease which breaks out during a war. It is based on the play ''

The White Disease ''The White Plague'' ( cz, Bílá nemoc) is a play written by Czech novelist Karel Čapek in 1937. Written at a time of increasing threat from Nazi Germany to Czechoslovakia, it portrays a human response to a tense, prewar situation in an unnamed ...

'' by

Karel Čapek Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel '' War with the Newts'' (1936) and play '' R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal ...

Cast

as Dr. Galén * Bedřich Karen as Professor Sigelius *

Zdeněk Štěpánek Zdeněk Štěpánek (22 September 1896 – 20 June 1968) was a Czech actor. He appeared in 65 films between 1922 and 1968. Selected filmography * '' St. Wenceslas'' (1930) * '' Paradise Road'' (1936) * '' The World Is Ours'' (1937) * '' Skelet ...

as The Marshal * Václav Vydra as Baron Olaf Krog *

František Smolík František Smolík (23 January 1891 – 26 January 1972) was a Czechoslovak film actor. He appeared in more than 75 films between 1920 and 1968. Selected filmography *'' The Mystery of the Blue Room'' (1933) * '' The Ruined Shopkeeper'' (1 ...

as Krog's Accountant * Helena Friedlová as Accountant's Wife *

Ladislav Boháč Ladislav Boháč (14 April 1907 – 4 July 1978) was a Czechoslovak film actor. He appeared in more than 45 films between 1933 and 1977. Selected filmography * '' Morality Above All Else'' (1937) * '' Skeleton on Horseback'' (1937) * '' Lid ...

as Krog's nephew * Karla Oličová as The Marshal's Daughter Aneta *

Jaroslav Průcha Jaroslav Průcha (24 April 1898 – 25 April 1963) was a Czechoslovakian film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1929 and 1963. He is buried at the Vyšehrad Cemetery. Selected filmography * '' Paradise Road'' (1936) * '' Ske ...

as Dr. Martin *

Vladimír Šmeral Vladimír Šmeral (16 October 1903, in Drásov – 15 March 1982, in Prague) was a Czech actor. Life Šmeral started acting in Zemské divadlo in Brno. He moved to Prague and acted in Liberated Theatre, E. F. Burian's theatre and Divadlo na Po� ...

as First Assistant *

Vítězslav Boček Vítězslav () is a Czech given name. It may refer to: *Vítězslav Hálek (1835–1874), Czech writer * Karel Vítězslav Mašek (1865–1927), Czech artist *Vítězslav Novák (1870–1949), Czech composer * Ludvík Vítězslav Čelanský (1870– ...

as Accountant's Son * Eva Svobodová as Accountant's Daughter

Reception

In a contemporary review, the film was reviewed in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' in 1940, who noted that Čapek's conception "isn't entirely clear, he appears to be taking the dramatic theme that Fascism is a sort of white plague that scourges the people who follow its philosophy." The reviewer noted that Čapek's "thinking is logical uthe has certainly over-simplified the struggle between war and peace." The review continued that the film contained "many gripping scenes" praising "moments such as the meeting between the doctor and the dictator and the solitary vigil as zero hour for the invasion approaches, while "mob scenes are comparatively inept, and such matters as sound, lighting, photography and so on are inferior."

References

External links

* 1930s science fiction drama films 1937 films Czechoslovak black-and-white films Czechoslovak science fiction drama films 1930s Czech-language films Films about viral outbreaks Films directed by Hugo Haas Czech science fiction drama films 1937 drama films Adaptations of works by Karel Čapek 1930s Czech films {{1930s-drama-film-stub