Heave-Ho!
Country
CzechoslovakiaCopyright
1934Production year
1934Premiere
26 October 1934Runtime
110 minDirector
Martin FričCategory
filmGenre
comedy, satireTypology
featuretheatrical distributionlongOriginal title
Hej-Rup!Czech title
Hej-Rup!English title
Heave-Ho!Working title
Hej rup! – Chceme žít!Summary
Despite their interest in the medium of film, during the era of the First Republic actors Jiří Voskovec and Jan Werich devoted much of their professional energies to the Prague-based avant-garde Osvobozené divadlo (The Liberated Theatre). This meant only two film outings, namely the socially-themed comedies Hej-Rup! (Heave-Ho!, 1934) and Svět patří nám (The World Belongs to Us, 1937), both directed by Martin Frič. Both films have a left-wing take on the 1930s Great Depression era. Today, these entries serve as a testament to the talents of their makers (along with co-writer Václav Wassermann they went under the joint pseudonym “Formen” – or “four men”). In the film, the V+W comic duo portray bankrupted factory owner Jakub Simonides (Werich) and unemployed worker Filip Kornet (Voskovec). The social ideal arising from the joining of forces by our unemployed protagonists against an evil capitalist is far more in a light-hearted comedic sense than later era communist propaganda. Many other performers from The Liberated Theatre also join the cast.
Synopsis
Millionaire Worst decides to destroy a competing firm through subterfuge. He detains industrialist Jakub Simonides at cards for a period of five days in a club and in the meantime everything is being prepared on the stock exchange to deprive Simonides of all his properties. In the club Simonides happens to hear the broadcasted speech of unemployed Filip Kornet and the young man interests Simonides so much that he offers Kornet a job as his secretary. Yet when the two go to his villa, Simonides discovers that he is no longer the owner of either a factory or a villa. Therefore he leaves with Filip to look for work. The young Marta brings Jakub his wallet that he left at the club. In it Jakub finds the title to his house which has escaped the notice of the auctioneer's of his property. The threesome sets out to Simonides's house at once. It comes out that this concerns an unfinished construction. Because neither Filip nor Simonides are competent at construction work, they decide to invite the unemployed. All of them then are the owners of the new building, calling themselves 'hejrupáci' (heave-hoers), and they deposit their profits into a joint fund. So Worst again has a competitor, who he tries to destroy in the same manner as before. But the heave-hoers do not fall for it and they eventually become shareholders in Worst's enterprise. Everything ends in an idyll: Simonides, Filip, and Marta spend a pleasant Sunday outside the town as the ordinary members of the collective.
Note
The film was presented at the 3rd Venice Film Festival, 1935. During filming the work became known as Hej rup!, which weakend the semantic distinction of the phrase. The film had, in fact, previously been named after the dairy cooperative Hej-Rup.
Photos
Cast
Jiří Voskovec
nezaměstnaný dělník Filip Kornet
Jan Werich
továrník Jakub Simonides
Helena Bušová
barmanka Marta
Josef Skřivan
Worst, prezident konzervářského průmyslu
Theodor Pištěk
Brown, ředitel Simonidesova koncernu
Alois Dvorský
majitel vily, filatelista
Václav Trégl
nezaměstnaný
František Černý
nezaměstnaný
Miroslav Svoboda
nezaměstnaný
Jan W. Speerger
nezaměstnaný
František Kovářík
nezaměstnaný
František Filipovský
nezaměstnaný Václav Mašl
Bohuš Záhorský
nezaměstnaný strojní inženýr František Novák
Filip Balek-Brodský
nezaměstnaný
Gina Hašler
nezaměstnaný
Věkoslav Satoria
nezaměstnaný
Jiří Hron
nezaměstnaný gigolo
Jan Richter
žebrák
Jaroslav Průcha
rozhlasový inspicient
František Paul
zřízenec u Worsta
Zvonimir Rogoz
bankéř
Alexander Třebovský
bankéř
Ferdinand Hart
bankéř
Jaroslav Bráška
bankéř
Miloš Šubrt
bankéř
Václav Piskáček
makléř
Anna Švarcová
Kateřina, majitelka noclehárny U Kateřiny
Josef Novák
člen správní rady
Ada Karlovský
člen správní rady
Antonín Holzinger
člen správní rady
Vladimír Marek
člen správní rady
Eduard Šlégl
člen správní rady
Marie Kopecká
telefonistka u Simonidesa
Ferry Seidl
zaměstnanec rozhlasu
Eduard Šimáček
zaměstnanec rozhlasu
Jindřich Adolf
zaměstnanec rozhlasu
Antonín Frič
vrátný v rozhlasu
František Jerhot
taxikář
Josef Kotalík
komorník u Simonidesa
Václav Pata
Joachim, komorník u Simonidesa
Vladimír Růžička
sluha u ředitele Browna
F. X. Mlejnek
kantýnský
Karel Schleichert
nocležník
František Beranský
nocležník
Vladimír Smíchovský
asfaltér
Přemysl Pražský
policejní komisař
Rudolf Stahl
strážník
Arnold Reimann
vetešník
Mario Karas
akcionář na burze
Leopold Horešovský
akcionář na burze
Kamila Rosenkranzová
matka v lese
Karolína Vávrová
babička v lese
Antonín Jirsa
úderník
Crew and creators
Director
Continuity
Screenstory
F. Formen, Martin Frič, Jiří Voskovec, Václav Wasserman, Jan Werich
Screenplay
F. Formen, Martin Frič, Jiří Voskovec, Václav Wasserman, Jan Werich
Director of Photography
Camera Operator
Production Designer
Art Director
A. L. Salač (interiéry)
Set Designer
Film Editor
Sound Designer
Production Manager
Cooperation
Willy Ströminger (fotograf)
Music
Music Composed by
Music Performed by
Orchestr Osvobozeného divadla (Music Conducted by Jaroslav Ježek), Orchestr F.O.K.
Songs
Ze dne na den (bues)
Song Composer Jaroslav Ježek
Writer of Lyrics Jan WerichJiří Voskovec
Singer Jan WerichJiří Voskovec
Hej rup! Chceme žít! (foxtrot)
Song Composer Jaroslav Ježek
Writer of Lyrics Jan WerichJiří Voskovec
Singer Jan WerichJiří Voskovecsbor
Full Hand
Song Composer Jaroslav Ježek
Good Evening
Song Composer Jaroslav Ježek
Nepudu domů, nepudu domů
Singer Jan Werich
Production info
Original Title
Hej-Rup!
Czech Title
Hej-Rup!
English Title
Heave-Ho!
Working Title
Hej rup! – Chceme žít!
Category
film
Typology
featuretheatrical distribution
Genre
comedy, satire
Origin country
Czechoslovakia
Copyright
1934
Production Year
1934
Production specifications
start of filming 13 July 1934 (ateliéry)
end of filming 29 July 1934 (ateliéry)
date of censorship 10/1934
date of censorship 07/1938 (maďarsky namluvená jazyková mutace)
withdrawal from distribution 03/1939
date of censorship 08/1939 (neschváleno do distribuce)
withdrawal from distribution 1 October 1993
Premiere
premiere 26 October 1934 /unsuitable for youths/ (kino Alfa /5 týdnů/, Praha)
premiere 07/1938 /unsuitable for youths/ (maďarsky namluvená jazyková mutace)
renewed premiere 07/1949 /suitable for youths/
renewed premiere 12 March 1954 /suitable for youths/
Production
With support
Copyright Holders
Studio
Distribution
Meissner (původní 1934), Kinofilm Brno (maďarsky dabovaná jazyková mutace 1938), Rozdělovna filmů Československého státního filmu (obnovená 1949 a 1954)
Technical info
Duration typology
feature film
Duration in minutes
110 min
Original length in metres
3 135 meters
Distribution carrier
35mm
Aspect ratio
1:1,19
Colour
black & white
Sound
sound
Sound system/format
Tobis – Klang
Versions
Czech, Hungarian
Dialogue languages
Czech, Hungarian, Russian
Subtitles languages
without subtitles
Opening/End credits languages
Czech, Hungarian
Awards
Vítěz
Festival: 1. sovětský filmový festival Moskva
1935
Moskva / Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Meissner
Vítěz
Event: Čestné diplomy časopisu Filmové listy
1935
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Martin Frič
Vítěz
Festival: 3. mezinárodní filmový festival Benátky
1935
Benátky / Italy
Vítěz
Event: Stuhy časopisu Český filmový zpravodaj
1935
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Meissner
