Václav Vydra
Acting
Biography
No biography available for Václav Vydra.
Born: October 25, 1902
Place of Birth: Raudnitz an der Elbe, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Roudnice nad Labem, Czech Republic]
Known For
Moon Over the River
A look back at old classmates at a high school reunion, discovering how life has fruitlessly slipped through their fingers. And they don't even have a chance to break free from the small-town grip.
Přítelkyně pana ministra
The main character of the funny story is an ordinary typist Julinka Svobodová, who works for the established business firm Hrubý a syn and lives in a sublet with the seamstress Mrs. Pokorná. Although she is poor and sometimes manages to be late, she is still cheerful and pleasant. However, a small coincidence is enough and everything changes. That is when she takes an elevator ride with the Minister of Trade, Dr. Horák, who coincidentally lives in the same building. Mrs. Pokorná, in good faith, hints to the inquisitive landlady that Julinka is the Minister's girlfriend. From the talkative woman, an innocent rumor spreads like wildfire and, surprisingly, it helps the girl in every way...
The Good Soldier Švejk
Good-natured and garrulous, Schweik becomes the Austrian army's most loyal Czech soldier when he is called up on the outbreak of World War I -- although his bumbling attempts to get to the front serve only to prevent him from reaching it. Playing cards and getting drunk, he uses all his cunning and genial subterfuge to deal with the police, clergy, and officers who chivy him toward battle.
The Best Man of All
A Czech satirical comedy set around 1900. The inhabitants of the small town of Pětice are excited by a mysterious package that is to be delivered to the best person in the village. Of course, all members of the town council claim the title of best person. In the end, it turns out that it was a cleverly thought-out prank intended to reveal the true character of the "better people" of the town.
Jan Hus
The first part of the "Hussite Revolutionary Trilogy", completed with Jan Žižka (1955) and Proti všem (Against All Odds, 1957). The film captures the period from May 1412 to the summer of 1415, a turbulent time in the Czech Kingdom, during which there were protests in Prague against the sale of "omnipotent indulgences" whose sale throughout the kingdom was announced by Pope John XXIII. The ideological leader of this movement is the preacher Master Jan Hus, whose words, calling for the elimination of church abuses, are listened to in the Bethlehem Chapel by thousands of ordinary Praguers, Czech lords and Queen Sophie, wife of the Czech King Wenceslas IV.
Early Days
Early Days follows the early life of famous Czech writer Alois Jirásek. Jirásek had already developed his own view of the history of the Czech nation while he was at grammar school in Broumov. When he becomes the supply teach in Litomyšl, he has already written his first book and a number of poems. The local dignitaries await the arrival of the young writer in excited anticipation. Jirásek, however, is sickened by the empty patriotism from the depths of his soul and soon becomes disagreeable to the notables. The district sheriff tries to remove Jirásek from the school and drive him out of town. Unable to do this, the sheriff appoints a pro-Austrian headmaster who attempts to sabotage Jirásek. The students stand behind Jirásek , however, and discontent is not only felt in Litomyšl but throughout Bohemia.
I Killed Einstein, Gentlemen
This futuristic science fiction comedy features an atomic bomb blast that causes women to grow beards and lose the ability to have children. A summit meeting is held at the United Nations, with the proposed solution of building a time machine. The decision is made to travel back in time and murder Einstein, with the hopeful result being that without the noted mathematician's research there will be no atomic bombs.
Jaroslav Hasek's Exemplary Cinematograph
Jaroslav Hašek screens four film stories in the fairground shed around 1900. After period advertising slides and a "newspaper", we see "the first part of a sensational, exemplary, parfuss, salon program - a film from the life of school-age children, shot under very difficult circumstances". The plot of this film takes place partly in a school classroom and partly in a gymnasium toilet, where the primate Chocholka took refuge from a Latin composition. "Exemplary Family Happiness" is the second film that takes the viewer into the family of the municipal official Honzátek, in which many stormy scenes occurred when the hamster, provided by Honzátek Jr., moved into the sofa - a wedding gift from Sister Ema. Equally surprising are two other stories, one of which tells about the "father of the poor", the owner of a company with unrecoverable cash flow and a famous patron, and the other about the fateful consequences of a joint trip between the old bachelor Mr. Hanzlíček and his neighbors.
Of Things Supernatural
An anthology of three absurd, ironic tales inspired by Čapek’s “Tales from One Pocket” and “Fables and Side Stories,” each showing uncanny forces disrupting ordinary lives: in Krejčík’s “Glorie,” a gentle clerk is haunted by a sudden halo; the other two segments by Mach and Makovec similarly blend everyday routines with ironic, supernatural twists.
From My Life
The film, in individual episodes, captures the fate of Bedřich Smetana from 1856 until the end of his life, from his young years until the moment when, exhausted by human and artistic hardship, he sees the fulfillment of his great dream, the opening of the National Theatre.
Filmography
as MUDr. Ondrášek
as (segment "Glorie")
as rector Krejčí
as Německý Kurfiřt
as starosta Bublich
as Brožík
as Durdík
as Roman Kašpar
as Emil
as mladý Matula