Summary
Following on from his student comedy Škola základ života (School is the Foundation of Life, 1938), Martin Frič's next picture drew on the "Joe College" texts by author Jaroslav Žák. Cesta do hlubin študákovy duše (1939) went beyond its inherently patriotic theme, and beyond the limits of mere undemanding entertainment. The story framework consists of the narrative of a grammar school physics teacher named Rabiška, who has long, and with an exacting passion, taught his pupils. The central characters are the sensitive seventh-grader Vaněk (Rudolf Hrušínský), who is a talented pianist, and the kindly old natural sciences teacher Matulka (Jindřich Plachta), who, due to cold feet, has himself yet to pass the final state exam. With the help of their young Latin teacher Voříšek (František Vnouček), the students employ a small ruse to help their favourite teacher. Among the stand-outs of the cast are in particular František Filipovský, then 32, who plays the class wally František Mazánek, and Ladislav Pešek, then 33, who appears as an energetic student called Kulík.
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