Angel in the Mountains

Following the success of 1952’s Dovolená s Andělem (Holiday with Angel), director Bořivoj Zeman returned to the character of the curmudgeonly ticket inspector Gustav Anděl with this loose 1955 sequel. While in the first film, the protagonist travelled to a summer trade union camp, in Anděl na horách (Angel in the Mountains) the character visits the summertime High Tatra Mountains. However, this time Mr. Anděl – reflecting the post-Stalin-era slight loosening of political repressions – focuses more on personal problems than social ones related to “building a better future”. For the inspector’s son has become engaged to a certain Věra, and the conservative father wants to see if the young woman measures up. However, Anděl mistakenly confuses the pleasant young future bride with a woman of far looser morals. Jaroslav Marvan excels in the lead role in this popular comedy, once again superbly supported by Josef Kemr in the role of cellist Vyhlídka. Though this represented one of the most successful Czechoslovak films of the 1950s, a planned second sequel, in which Anděl was to visit the seaside, was unfortunately never produced.