Summary
Amongst the most popular film adaptations of Jaroslav Hašek’s satirical/dark comedy World War I novel are two motion pictures shot over 1956 and 1957 by seasoned screenwriter and director Karel Steklý. Dobrý voják Švejk (The Good Soldier Švejk) deals with events from the first volume of the novel, whilst Poslušně hlásím (Beg to Report, Sir) follows the hero’s adventures on the way to the front and from the battlefield. Prague dog trader Josef Švejk gets entangled in a conflict with Austro-Hungarian bureaucratic machinery following the Sarajevo assassination. After his arrest for insulting the emperor, he is enlisted in the army, despite having essentially been diagnosed as a notorious imbecile. Once in uniform, he progressively serves under booze-filled field chaplain Katz (Miloš Kopecký) and womanising, elegant lieutenant Lukáš (Svatopluk Beneš). Rudolf Hrušínský brilliantly handles the main role. In tandem with then prevailing trends, he turned Hašek’s character into a “folk hero”.
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