Morality Above All Else

1937 1h 15m CS

🤯

8.5

MASTERPIECE

★8.5TMDB · 4

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Professor Karas is widely known as enthusiastic propagator of the motto "Morality Above All Else". He guides his students as well as his own family to live a morally decent life. One day he has an unexpected visit. It's his illegitimate daughter Vera, who is proof of his thoughtless youth. Mr. Karas know that she can ruin his image, thus he decides to keep her a secret and asks her to leave. Instead of leaving she takes a position of a governess in his own family without letting him know. Mr. Karas realizes that he must reveal the truth sooner or later, but he doesn't have enough courage to do so. As he postpones it, he is more and more scared to come to his own home.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Hugo Haas
Professor Antonín Karas
Světla Svozilová
Karolína Karasová - wife
Adina Mandlová
Eva Karasová - daughter
Jiří Hlinomaz
Ivan Karas - son
Ladislav Boháč
MUDr. Jílkovský
Saša Rašilov
JUDr. Mach - friend
Věra Ferbasová
Vera Gregorova - illegitimate daughter
Mirko Eliáš
Konrád - sculptor

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Martin Frič
Writers: J. Erbenová, Martin Frič, Hugo Haas
Languages: Czech
Countries: Czechoslovakia

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 75-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

89 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Martin Frič, shot by Ferdinand Pečenka. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Roman Blahník. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jan Kohout shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Hugo Haas and Světla Svozilová and Adina Mandlová carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0166722 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 4 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Martin Frič directs. Ferdinand Pečenka behind the camera. Roman Blahník scores. Jan Kohout cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Czechoslovakia. Dialogue in Czech.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 75-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
289 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Martin Frič, shot by Ferdinand Pečenka. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Roman Blahník. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Jan Kohout shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Hugo Haas and Světla Svozilová and Adina Mandlová carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0166722 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 4 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.