The Kidnapping of Fux Banker (Únos bankére Fuxe)

Czech Republic, 1923. Director Karl Anton. 75min.

Made during the time of Czech cinema’s deepening crisis, the country’s film industry had big expectations from this American-style comedy, which did prove an instant box office hit. Depicting a wicked fantasy of a luxurious middle-class lifestyle, The Kidnapping has an excellent cast including Karel Lamac and Anny Ondra (star of Hitchcock’s Blackmail [1929] and The Manxman [1929]), and also features a unique cameo appearance by the fêted Parisian couturier Paul Poiret (as himself) who toured to Prague with his six mannequins, staging several bombastic fashion shows there in early December 1923.

With Anny Ondra and Karel Lamac.

Past screenings

If Looks Could Kill – London
Sunday 25 May 2008, 18:20 | BFI Southbank, NFT1
With live musical accompaniment by DJ Charles Kriel and ‘funny face,’ and introduction by Festival Director Marketa Uhlriova.