Summary
Despite their interest in the medium of film, during the era of the First Republic actors Jiří Voskovec and Jan Werich devoted much of their professional energies to the Prague-based avant-garde Osvobozené divadlo (The Liberated Theatre). This meant only two film outings, namely the socially-themed comedies Hej-Rup! (Heave-Ho!, 1934) and Svět patří nám (The World Belongs to Us, 1937), both directed by Martin Frič. Both films have a left-wing take on the 1930s Great Depression era. Today, these entries serve as a testament to the talents of their makers (along with co-writer Václav Wassermann they went under the joint pseudonym “Formen” – or “four men”). In the film, the V+W comic duo portray bankrupted factory owner Jakub Simonides (Werich) and unemployed worker Filip Kornet (Voskovec). The social ideal arising from the joining of forces by our unemployed protagonists against an evil capitalist is far more in a light-hearted comedic sense than later era communist propaganda. Many other performers from The Liberated Theatre also join the cast.
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