''The Corporal and the Others'' () is a 1965 Hungarian comedy film directed by

Márton Keleti Márton Keleti (27 April 1905 – 20 June 1973) was a Hungarian screenwriter and film director. He directed 50 films between 1937 and 1973. His 1959 film ''Yesterday (1959 film), Yesterday'' was entered into the 1st Moscow International Fil ...

. The film was chosen to be part of the

Budapest Twelve The Budapest Twelve is a list of 12 Hungarian films considered the best from the period between 1948 and 1968. The films were chosen in secret ballot of the Hungarian film industry in 1968. Budapest Twelve The International Federation of Fil ...

, a list of Hungarian films considered the best in 1968.

Cast

Imre Sinkovits Imre Sinkovits (21 September 1928 in Budapest – 18 January 2001 in Budapest) was a Hungarian actor. Career After a year in Downtown Theatre and another in Youth Theatre, in 1949 he got a job in National Theatre, where he stayed until ...

- Corporal Ferenc Molnár *

Iván Darvas Iván Darvas (born ''Szilárd Darvas''; 14 June 1925 in Behynce (, ; now part of Tornaľa, Revúca District, Banská Bystrica Region) – 3 June 2007 in Budapest, Hungary) was a Hungarian actor. Early life Born as Szilárd Darvas, his fa ...

- Second Lieutenant Eduárd Gálfy *

Tamás Major Tamás Major (26 January 1910 – 13 April 1986) was a Hungarian stage and film actor. He also acted as the director of the Hungarian National Theatre from 1945 to 1962. Selected filmography * ''A szüz és a gödölye'' (1941) - István, Hube ...

- Albert, a

butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

* - István Szíjjártó, a

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

László Ungváry László Ungváry (1911–1982) was a Hungarian film, stage and television actor.Fekete p.495 Selected filmography * '' Varjú a toronyórán'' (1938) * '' Férjet keresek'' (1940) * '' Europe Doesn't Answer'' (1941) * '' The Song of Rákóczi'' ...

- Lieutenant Barkányi, an

Arrow Cross Party The Arrow Cross Party (, , abbreviated NYKP) was a far-right Hungarian ultranationalist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which formed a government in Hungary they named the Government of National Unity. They were in power from 15 October 1944 to ...

member * - Private Imre Gáspár / János Gáspár *

Gyula Szabó Gyula Szabó (15 July 1930 – 4 April 2014) was a Hungarians, Hungarian actor. He won two Mari Jászai Prizes. He appeared in forty movies between 1953 and 2002. He is best known for appearing in movies such as ''Ifjú szívvel'' (1953), ...

- Private György Fekete / Károly Fekete *

László Márkus László Márkus (10 June 1927 – 30 December 1985) was a Hungarian actor. He appeared in over 90 films and television shows between 1952 and 1985. He starred in the 1985 film '' Első kétszáz évem'', which was entered into the 36th Ber ...

- SS

Obersturmführer __NOTOC__ (, ; short: ''Ostuf'') was a Nazi Germany paramilitary ranks, Nazi Germany paramilitary rank that was used in several Nazi organisations, such as the Sturmabteilung, SA, Schutzstaffel, SS, National Socialist Motor Corps, NSKK and the ...

* - Gutnacht, a German SS officer * - Grisha, a Russian soldier * - the Forester * - the Forester's Wife * Gábor Agárdy - Commander of the Levente corps (a militaristic right-wing youth movement) *

László Bánhidi László Bánhidi (1906–1984) was a Hungarian actor. Selected filmography * '' Song of the Cornfields'' (1947) * '' Prophet of the Fields'' (1947) * '' Treasured Earth'' (1948) * ''Singing Makes Life Beautiful'' (1950) * '' The Land Is Our ...

- Sergeant Pál Suhajda

Plot

Somewhere in Hungary, in the last days of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Corporal Ferenc Molnár is on the run on a motorbike. He has deserted his unit and taken its money with him. On his journey, he gathers around him a socially and politically diverse group of men whose aim is the same as his: Surviving the war.

Background

As a satirical comedy about the war - a novelty at the time - the film became an immediate commercial and critical sensation in mid-1960s Hungary and was seen by 2.2 million viewers. By putting a cunning

everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin and history The term ''everyman'' was used ...

into the center of the plot, not heroical

partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

s, and satirizing all sides, this new type of war film spoke to many everyday Hungarians. The quote ''Az oroszok már a spájzban vannak!'' (The Russians are already in the pantry!) immediately entered the spoken Hungarian language and has been used in many variations since then.

Accolades

''Hungarian Film Festival'' 1966: * Main award for best film (together with ''

Twenty Hours ''Twenty Hours'' (, ) is a 1965 Hungarian drama film directed by Zoltán Fábri. The film was selected as the Hungarian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 38th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Libr ...

'' (''Húsz óra'') by

Zoltán Fábry Zoltán () is a Hungarian masculine given name. The name days for this name are 8 March and 23 June in Hungary, and 7 April in Slovakia. "Zoli" is the short version of Zoltán. "Zoli" is commonly used. Zoltána is the feminine version. The name i ...

and '' My Way Home'' (''Így jöttem'') by

Miklós Jancsó Miklós Jancsó (; 27 September 192131 January 2014) was a Hungarian people, Hungarian film director and screenwriter. Jancsó achieved international prominence starting in the mid-1960s with works including ''Szegénylegények, The Round-Up'' ...

) * Best male actor (Imre Sinkovits) * Special Award of the Jury for best director (Márton Keleti) ''Awards of the Hungarian Film Critics'' 1965:cf. ''Film Színház Muzsika'', 4 February 1966, p. 21. * Special Award * Best male actor (Imre Sinkovits)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Corporal and the Others 1965 comedy films 1965 films Hungarian war comedy films 1965 war films Hungarian World War II films 1960s war comedy films 1960s Hungarian-language films Films directed by Márton Keleti