Tonka of the Gallows
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''Tonka of the Gallows'' (Czech: ''Tonka Šibenice'', French: ''Tonischka'', German: ''Die Galgentoni'') is a 1930 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- ...
directed by
Karl Anton Karl Anton or Karel Anton (25 October 1898 12 April 1979) was a Bohemian-born German film director, screenwriter and film producer. Biography He was born in Prague on 25 October 1898. His father Wilhelm Anton (1861–1918) was a physician. An ...
and starring Ita Rina,
Vera Baranovskaya Vera Vsevolodovna Baranovskaya (russian: Вера Всеволодовна Барановская; 1885 – 7 December 1935) was a Russian Empire and Soviet actress. She performed in more than twenty films between 1916 and 1935. Biography Barano ...
and
Josef Rovenský Josef Rovenský (17 April 1894 – 5 November 1937) was a Czech-JewishSiegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933'', Berghahn Books (2007), p. 213 film actor and director. He app ...
. It is an adaptation of the novella ''Die Himmelfahrt der Galgentoni'' by
Egon Erwin Kisch Egon Erwin Kisch (29 April 1885 – 31 March 1948) was an Austrian and Czechoslovak writer and journalist, who wrote in German. He styled himself ''Der Rasende Reporter'' (The Raging Reporter) for his countless travels to the far corners of the ...
. The movie was shot as a silent movie, but later Czech, German and French post-synchronized sound versions were made.


Plot

The movie follows story of a country girl Tonka who lives in Prague and works as a prostitute unbeknownst to her family. One day a convicted murderer Prokůpek requests to spend a night with a girl before his execution. Policemen ask many prostitutes if they're willing to do this job, but all of them refuse except Tonka. As a result, none of her customers wants to visit her again and other prostitutes shun her.


Cast

* Ita Rina as Tonka of the Gallows *
Vera Baranovskaya Vera Vsevolodovna Baranovskaya (russian: Вера Всеволодовна Барановская; 1885 – 7 December 1935) was a Russian Empire and Soviet actress. She performed in more than twenty films between 1916 and 1935. Biography Barano ...
Tonka's mother *
Josef Rovenský Josef Rovenský (17 April 1894 – 5 November 1937) was a Czech-JewishSiegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933'', Berghahn Books (2007), p. 213 film actor and director. He app ...
as Murderer Prokůpek * Jack Mylong-Münz as Jan *
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 Cabman *
Antonie Nedošinská Antonie Nedošinská (26 June 1885 – 17 July 1950) was a Czechoslovak film actress. She appeared in 89 films between 1916 and 1947. Selected filmography * '' The Lantern'' (1925) * '' Falešná kočička aneb Když si žena umíní'' (1926) * ...
as Whorehouse owner *Emilie Nitschová as Chestnut seller *Rudolf Štěpán as Executioner *Felix Kühne as Salesman * Theodor Pištěk as Drunkard * Jan Sviták as Pimp *Karel Jelínek as Whorehouse customer


Production

Writer Egon Erwin Kisch allegedly met a prostitute Antonie Havlová who told him her life story shortly before her death in 1911. He wrote a novella ''Die Himmelfahrt der Galgentoni'' based on her life in 1921. In the same year a theatre play based on the book was produced at Revoluční scéna with Xena Longenová playing the main role. Karel Anton decided to make a silent movie based on the book. The shooting started in autumn 1929 at Kavalírka studio in
Košíře Košíře is a district of Prague, part of the municipal area Prague 5. It is situated in the valley of the Motol brook between the districts Smíchov and Motol. Košíře became a town in 1896 and was joined onto Prague in 1921. History K ...
. Unfortunatelly the stages burned down on 25 October together with some reels of the film. The movie was finished at AB studios in
Vinohrady Královské Vinohrady (in English literally "Royal Vineyards" german: Königliche Weinberge) is a cadastral district in Prague. It is so named because the area was once covered in vineyards dating from the 14th century. Vinohrady lies in the muni ...
and it was decided to release the movie as a sound film. Czech, French and German post-synchrons were recorded at Gaumont Joinville studio in Paris.


Reception

''Tonka of the Gallows'' premiered at Alfa cinema in Prague on 27 February 1930. The movie was advertised as the "first Czech sound film". Contemporary critics mostly praised the movie with ''Filmový přehled'' writing "The impression with which I left the theatre was unforgettable and rivetting." In France ''Hebdo-Film'' wrote "Karl Anton has used all the means of expression offered by modern cinematographic techniques, but his personality has always allowed him to avoid the traps set by convention and sentimentality."


Restoration

Only the French version survived to this day. From the Czech version only the beginning with
Karel Hašler Karel Hašler (31 October 1879 in Prague – 22 December 1941 in Mauthausen) was a Czech songwriter, actor, lyricist, film and theatre director, composer, writer, dramatist, screenwriter and cabaretier. He was murdered in the Mauthausen concent ...
singing ''Hradčany krásné'' survived. The French version was digitally restored and released on DVD in 2016 by ''Národní filmový archiv''. It was screened at
MoMA Moma may refer to: People * Moma Clarke (1869–1958), British journalist * Moma Marković (1912–1992), Serbian politician * Momčilo Rajin (born 1954), Serbian art and music critic, theorist and historian, artist and publisher Places ; ...
in 2017 and San Francisco Silent Film Festival and
Phoenix Cinema The Phoenix Cinema is an independent single-screen community cinema in East Finchley, London, England. It was built in 1910 and opened in 1912 as the East Finchley Picturedrome. It is one of the oldest continuously-running cinemas in the ...
, London in 2019.


References


Bibliography

* Brož, Jaroslav & Frída, Myrtil. ''Historie československého filmu v obrazech 1930 – 1945'', Orbis, Prague, 1966.


External links

* * * {{Karl Anton 1930 films Czech drama films 1930 drama films 1930s Czech-language films 1930s German-language films 1930s French-language films Films directed by Karl Anton Czech black-and-white films Transitional sound drama films 1930 multilingual films Czech multilingual films Czechoslovak multilingual films French-language Czech films German-language Czech films