Budapest Classic Film Marathon: Keep Smiling!

Director: László Kardos

Written by Pál Vári, István Mihály, Frigyes Karinthy
Director of photography: István Eiben
Music by Miklós Brodszky
Cast: Szakáll Szőke, Éva Szörényi, Imre Ráday, Tivadar Bilicsi, Éva Fenyvessy, Lajos Gárdonyi, Antal Páger

Budapest, Vienna, Hollywood / Stars, Shine!

Frigyes Karinthy, a true fan of motion pictures, was one of the writers on László Kardos’s amiable comedy Keep Smiling! Cameraman Mihály Blazsek, acted by S. Z. Sakall (Szőke Szakáll - blonde beard), important character actor in Casablanca and many other hit Hollywood films, tricks well-heeled Miklós Dénes returning from England into marrying his daughter, Éva. He snaps the man holding tight onto the girl and this picture is published in the press under the line ‘Dénes and his fiancée’. In this film, Antal Páger – exceptionally – plays a melancholic character, despite which he still gets a few uproarious, truly original punchlines. When the errand boy asks the sad man sitting on the bench smoking: “Are you sitting here?”, the cool, elegant response is: “No, my boy, I’m cycling on the Eiffel Tower”. The great Hungarian writer makes his presence felt in these one-liners and this puts the film slightly above the countless other light entertainment comedies typical for the period. 

Other programs of the Budapest Classic Film Marathon in Urania >>