Gyula Kabos Movies

Urilany Szobat Kere (Lady Seeks Room) stars Hungarian screen favorite Irene Zilahy, who captured the hearts of New Yorkers with her winning performance in the Broadway production of Tovarich. This time out, Zilahy plays Klari, who, as the title indicates, is looking about for suitable lodgings. She ends up sharing quarters with the hero of the piece, leading to the usual complications and misunderstandings. The film is based on a popular stage musical, with most of the best songs intact. The comedy honors in Urilany Szobat Keres are won hands-down by Julius Kobos, who was seemingly in every Hungarian film produced in the 1930s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Dunaparti Randevu (Romance At the Danube) offers yet another pair of ardent young lovers who pursue their romance despite her papa's objections. Once again, the hero (Imre Raday) is an impoverished writer, while the heroine (Zita Perczel) is the daughter of a rich man. And once again, the girl's father (Julius Kabos) refuses to bless the union until the boy "makes something" of himself. At the last moment, the hero manages to win over the father by writing a best-seller -- still another familiar plot device. And as expected, the acting honors are won by the father, played by ace Hungarian comic Julius Kabos. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The tenor of this Hungarian comedy is summed up by its English-language title, Half-Price Honeymoon. The story centers around four employees of a Budapest toy factory. Two of the employees, male and female, try to take advantage of a half-price Italian honeymoon. The fact that the hero and heroine aren't actually married to one another is merely a technicality. Adding to confusion is the fact that the other two employees, likewise a man and a woman, are forced by circumstance to pretend that they're not married. Much of the film was stunningly lensed on location in Naples, Florence and Sorrento. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A Csunya Lany translates as A Plain Girl, which hardly describes the pretty heroine Eva (Lili Murati). Wrongly accused by lawyer Halmi (Paul Javor) of breaking up a marriage, Eva gets even by disguising herself as a drab drudge and landing a job as Halmi's secretary. It is her intention to make the lawyer fall in love with her, then to maneuver him into a compromising situation. The plot fails when Eva falls in love with Halmi for real. A Csunya Lany was more or less remade by Marion Davies as Ever Since Eve in 1937. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Released in Hungary as Einok Kisasszony, Miss President stars Lilly Murati in the title role. Having inherited the ownership of a textile plant, headstrong young Esuzsi (Murati) breaks off her engagement to her factory superintendent Kollar (Jenoe Toerzs), claiming that she's fallen in love with another. Actually there is no "other"; she merely wants to escape a marriage arranged by her father. When pressed to produce her mystery lover, Esuzsi selects a young engineer named Istvan (Pal Javor), whom she's never even met. Jealously, Kollar hires Istvan and subjects him to a series of practical jokes. By the time the bewildered young man figures out what's going on, he's fallen in love with Esuzsi for real. Miss President was directed by Endre Marton, who as "Andrew Marton" later became one of the busiest second-unit directors in Hollywood. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Hippolyt, the Lackey was the second production to emanate from the Budapest studios of young-and-hungry Hunnia Studios. Former expressman Mattias Schneider may have recently come into a fortune, but he remains the same simple, down-to-earth soul he always was. But Mrs. Schneider is a social-climbing type, and she insists that their daughter Terka seek out a wealthy husband, even though the girl is in love with Schneider's employee Benedeck. To teach her husband and daughter the proper social attitudes and graces, Mrs. S. hires a butler named Hippolyt (portrayed by celebrated National Theatre of Budapest leading man Gyula Csortos) who has spent his life in service to the rich and famous. Hippolyt advices Schneider to join the "right" clubs, and as an added fillip, to take a young mistress, like any proper Hungarian gentlemen. Schneider takes Hippolyt's advice and invites a saucy showgirl named Mimi to his home, thoroughly destroying Mrs. Schneider's dreams of entering the aristocracy but somehow paving the way to a happy ending for Terka and Benedeck. Hippolyt, the Lackey was also lensed in a German-language version. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi