“Rivals”

 RIVALS

1911, Czechoslovakia

Aka… Sokové / ‘Rivals’ / ‘Juices’ / ‘Shocks’ (Cz)

Running Time: (Cz), 9:16m (Cz, truncated)

Production Company: Kinofa Film [Antonín Pech] (Prag)

Distributor: Kinofa [Antonín Pech] (12/31/11, Cz), NFA-Národní filmový archiv / europeanfilmgateway.eu (2020’s, WW)

Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Photographer: Antonín Pech

C: [unk]

Syn: A description of the surviving scenes: Two girls are dancing in the inn, one wearing a white dress, the other in black - a bandit arrives - the bandit has an argument with another guest about one of the girls - the fight continues on the rocks - the bandit throws his rival off the cliff - the girl in black mourns the dead man - a cowboy appears on a horse - the girl in black laments the crime to him - the cowboy catches up with the bandit, he disarms him and ties him to a tree - the old man who is to watch over the captive gets drunk and falls asleep - the girl in white, armed with a revolver, frees the bandit, her lover, and they both tie the watchman to the tree instead - the cowboy returns and again fights with the bandit - the girl in white is accidently shot during the ensuing duel - the cowboy leads the handcuffed bandit away.

     Comments: Filmed in Czechoslovakia. The version of RIVALS aka “Sokové” available online at europeanfilmgateway.eu is surprisingly crisp and authentic looking, made up mostly of longshots. It was filmed and assembled just before the language of film matured during the First World War. Only a handful of medium close-ups occur as the actors and cameraman move about. Other scenes appear to be in the wrong order due to unedited second takes that remain. These faux pas are confusing but can be ignored and forgiven allowing the viewer to follow along.

    Director Antonín Pech was born on 21 October 1874 in Cizice, near Plzen, Austria-Hungary and died on February 20, 1928, in Prague, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia. He was a photographer, film pioneer, and entrepreneur. Along with Josef Kejř (coffeehouse owner), Vladimír & Ladislav Rottové (steelworks owners) and Karel Novák (professor of engineering) he founded ‘Kinofa Film’ on May 1, 1911. It was the first professional film production company in the country. They built a production facility at Riegrovo nábřeží (now Masarykovo nábřeží) in Prague and made a dozen films before the start of the Great War (1914-18).

     Pech employed such performers as Frantisek Beranský, Anna Buriánová, J. Eichler, Frantisek Fort, Jirí Hojer, Katy Kaclová-Valisová, Antonín Michl, Václav Piskácek, Viktor Ponrepo, Josef Rovenský, ‘Rudi’ [Emil Artur Longen] & Ms. Rybáková who all may have appeared here.

     The Czechs later made a pair of talkie comedy westerns PANCHO’S WEDDING aka “Pancho se žení” (1946) and LEMONADE JOE (1964) that should be checked out.

Reference: europeanfilmgateway.eu/Český hraný film

 

Submitted by Michael Ferguson