Hungarian Heritage Review, 1991 (20. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
1991-01-01 / 1. szám
HUNGARIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO WORLD CIVILIZATION-By-Dr. Francis S. Wagner Theater And Cinema (PART II) -By-Christina Maria T. Wagner The history of the country's motion picture art goes back to 1896, the year of the Millennial Exhibition in Budapest commemorating the founding of the Hungarian state. On this occasion a number of shots were made of King Francis Joseph I as he attended the celebrations, among them a shot of the King as he viewed Munkácsy^ famous painting, Ecce Homo. It cannot be overemphasized that this was the very first attempt in the world to use films for documentation and to shoot current events (newsreels). In 1898 a feature film, The Adventure of Siofok (screenplay by Jeno Heltai), was made by a French company. The first original Hungarian film was shot in 1901 under the title, A Tanc (The Dance). Gyula Pekar’s 500m illustrated lecture on the history of dance featuring Lujza Blaha, Emilia Markus, Iren Varsányi, Gyula Hegedűs and several other great artists of that time. Hungary was the first in Europe to produce educational films. The first such film was made in 1913 at the Pedagogic Film Studio in Budapest. The expertise of Jeno Janovics (1872- 1946), director of the Hungarian National Theater in Kolozsvár, proved to be a turning point in the world of film-making. Feature film production in Hungary grew tremendously as a direct result of the successful motion picture of Janovics. In 1914 he directed the Bank ban starring Mari Jaszai and Mihály Varkonyi (d. 1976 in California) who in the twenties under the name of Victor Varconi became a star of Hollywood silent films. Several producers and directors like Sándor Korda (Sir Alexander Korda), Mihály Kertész (Michael Curtiz), Marton Garas, cameraman Arpad Viragh, etc., also launched their careers under the guidance of Jeno Janovics at the National Theater in Kolozsvár. As a result of the educational and inspirational work of Jeno Janovics 45 directors produced motion pictures prior to 1918 in over 30 major and 7 smaller studios in Hungary. Between the wars, partly because of the 1929 economic world crisis, film production did not advance significantly. Naturally, there were several feature films which enjoyed sweeping success like Hyppolitthe Butler (Hyppolit a Lakaj, 1931) directed by István Székely (Steve Sekely) with comedian Gyula Kabos, who later emigrated to the United States, and Gyula Csortos. Like Hyppolit the Butler, the twenty-fifth Hungarian sound film, The Dream Car (Meseauto, 1934) directed by Bela Gaal, had extraordinary success, with Zita Perczel, Jeno Törzs, Gyula Kabos, and Klári Tolnay in the leading roles. The success of The Dream Car positively affected the import of Hungarian feature films. While in 1934, according to Variety, an American trade paper, only 4 Hungarian motion pictures were screened in the United States out of 147 European films, three years later 18 Hungarian motion pictures reached American shores out of 240 imports, thereby raising Hungary to fourth place in America's film import. The 240 imported films included 67 German, 50 British, 23 French, 18 Hungarian, 17 Italian, 15 Soviet, 10 Polish, 10 Swedish products and 1 or 2 films from other countries. (Cf. István Nemeskurty, World and Image: history of the Hungarian cinema. Budapest: Corvina Press, 1968,p.94). The popular actresses of that era were Zita Szeleczky, Klári Tolnay, Eva Szörényi, Piri Vaszary, Lili Murati, and later Katalin Karady. During this time Antal Pager, Pal Jávor, Artur Somlay, Gyula Csortos, Tivadar Uray, and comedians Gyula Kabos, Gero Maly, Tivadar Bilicsi and Kalman Latabar also rose to tremendous popularity. Film critics unanimously agreed that the People on the Mountains (Emberek a Havason) was the greatest interwar production. Directed by István Szots, it was awarded the Grand Prize at the 1942 Biennale of Venice. The screenplay was based on the short stories of József Nyiro (Kopjafák) and the leading roles were played by Alice Szellay, Janos Görbe, and József Bihari. During the war years the screening of American films was prohibited in Hungary in 1942, with French and British pictures being banned much earlier. In the early forties, Bulgaria, Scandinavia, and the Balkans bought large numbers of Hungarian films. In 1940 Yugoslavia purchased 150 Hungarian films and Italy bought that year's entire production. Characteristically, Germany almost completely boycotted Hungarian-made motion pictures as it had during World War I. (See István Nemeskurty, Op. cit., p. 111). Between 1948 and 1965 Hungarian —continued next page 22 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW JANUARY 1991
