It Was the First of May
Country
CzechoslovakiaCopyright
1919Production year
1919Premiere
10 June 1919Director
Thea ČervenkováCategory
filmGenre
comedyTypology
featuretheatrical distributionOriginal title
Byl první májCzech title
Byl první májEnglish title
It Was the First of MayParallel title
Byl první máj, byl lásky časEnglish parallel title
It Was the First May, There Was the Time for LoveSummary
One of the first films of the newly founded Czechoslovak republic, It Was the first of May, was directed by the pioneer of Czech film direction, Thea Červenková, as a short romantic comedy based on her own theme and script. The simple plot is based on the dream of a young poet (played by the later director Svatopluk Innemann) in which his fiancée (Eva Levínská) runs off with a manipulative womanizer (Josef Šváb-Malostranský) shortly before their wedding. Filming took place in the spring of 1919 in Prague's exteriors, including places close the Seminary Garden and Kolowrat Palace.
Synopsis
A young man in love is waiting on a park bench for his beloved to arrive. She meets an old philanderer at the window of a goldsmith's who gives her the jewel she has admired in the window. The young man sees the old seducer courting his girl from behind some bushes in the park. Shortly afterwards the philanderer goes to visit her family. During coffee he gives mother and daughter more jewellery than they have ever seen in their lives. When the jilted lover sees them come out of church, in his despair, he jumps into the river. At that moment the young man wakes up - it was all a dream. The girl arrives. They kiss among the bushes and a little Cupid sniffs the sweet fragrance of the flowers.
Photos
Cast
Svatopluk Innemann
mladík
Eva Levínská
dívka
Ludmila Innemannová
dívčina matka
Josef Šváb-Malostranský
starý záletník
Crew and creators
Director
Screenstory
Screenplay
Director of Photography
Production info
Original Title
Byl první máj
Czech Title
Byl první máj
English Title
It Was the First of May
Parallel Title
Byl první máj, byl lásky čas
English Parallel Title
It Was the First May, There Was the Time for Love
Category
film
Typology
featuretheatrical distribution
Genre
comedy
Origin country
Czechoslovakia
Copyright
1919
Production Year
1919
Premiere
premiere 10 June 1919 (kino Koruna, Praha)
Production
Copyright Holders
Distribution
Technical info
Distribution carrier
35mm
Aspect ratio
1:1,33
Colour
black & white
Sound
silent
Versions
Czech
Dialogue languages
without dialogue
Subtitles languages
without subtitles
Intertitles languages
Czech
Opening/End credits languages
Czech
