{{Short description|1931 Hungarian comedy film}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}} {{unreliable sources|date=March 2019}} {{Infobox film | name = Hyppolit, the Butler | native_name = {{Infobox name module|Hyppolit, a lakáj}} | image = | alt = | caption = | director = [[Steve Sekely|István Székely]] | producer = Béla Keleti<br>Albert Samek | screenplay = [[Karl Noti|Károly Nóti]] | based_on = {{based on|''Hyppolit, a lakáj'' (play)|[[István Zágon]]}} | starring = [[Gyula Csortos]]<br />[[Gyula Kabos]]<br />[[Pál Jávor (actor)|Pál Jávor]] | music = [[Mihály Eisemann]] | cinematography = [[István Eiben]]<br />[[Eduard Hösch]] | editing = László Benedek | studio = Sonor Film | distributor = Kovács Emil és Társa | released = {{Film date|1931}} | runtime = 77 minutes | country = Hungary | language = Hungarian | budget = | gross = }}
'''''Hyppolit, the Butler''''' ({{langx|hu|Hyppolit, a lakáj}}) is a 1931 black-and-white [[Cinema of Hungary|Hungarian film]] [[comedy of manners]] about an upwardly mobile family hiring a butler who previously worked for aristocratic families. It was the second full [[sound films|sound film]] produced in Hungary, and at first it generated little interest (due to the flop of the first sound movie ''The Blue Idol'', also in 1931) but later became a favorite and is still a beloved oldie.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mmalexikon.hu/kategoria/film/kek-balvany|title=A kék bálvány|publisher=MMA Lexikon}}</ref> The film was chosen to be part of the [[Budapest Twelve|New Budapest Twelve]], a list of Hungarian films considered the best in 2000.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=March 2000|title=Új Budapesti Tizenkettő|url=https://www.filmvilag.hu/xista_frame.php?cikk_id=2851|journal=Filmvilág|volume=XLIII|issue=3|pages=2}}</ref> The film was shot at the [[Hunnia Film Studio]]s in [[Budapest]].
The screenplay was written by prolific Hungarian screenwriter [[Károly Nóti]] AKA Karl Noti,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0639130/|title=Károly Nóti|website=IMDb}}</ref> based on a stage play by István Zágon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0951866/|title=István Zágon|website=IMDb}}</ref> It was directed by [[Steve Sekely|Székely István AKA Steve Sekely]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0782804/|title=Steve Sekely|website=IMDb}}</ref> who earlier worked in [[Germany]] and later worked in [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] and [[Great Britain]]. The music was composed by Mihály Eisemann.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0251945/|title=Mihály Eisemann|website=IMDb}}</ref>
It was remade in 1999 as ''Hippolyt, a lakáj'' (with the y and the i interchanged).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212233/|title=Hippolyt|publisher=|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref>
==Plot== Mátyás Schneider (Gyula Kabos) is a typical [[parvenu]], an ignorant transportation entrepreneur who has become very rich quickly. Despite their humble origins, his wife (Mici Haraszti) strives to live a 'sophisticated' and '[[aristocracy|aristocratic]]' lifestyle. When she engages a butler, Hyppolit (Gyula Csortos) - who was an educated man, and who has served in the household of a late count for 27 years and traveled around the world with the late Count - their whole life is turned upside down: Schneider has to shave off his mustache, wear a [[dinner suit]] for dinner and eat French food instead of his beloved onions and roasted goose, while his wife is bullied by the butler into engaging in gymnastics and a rather meagre diet.
In the meantime, the Schneiders' spirited daughter, Terka (Éva Fenyvessy), falls for their good-looking manager, the former driver István Benedek (Pál Jávor), who keeps secret that he is in fact an engineer with a college diploma. Her mother, however, would prefer the good-natured, but quite stupid Makáts (Gyula Gózon) as a suitor, because Makáts's uncle (Sándor Góth), a city councillor, may help them to get a lucrative contract.
Things begin to turn upside down, when Schneider follows Hyppolit's suggestions to start dating Mimi (Mici Erdélyi), a singer and dancer at a sleazy night club. When he fails to show up at a date with her, the girl enters the Schneiders' villa, where a dinner party with important guests - including Makáts's uncle - is taking place, and causes a scandal. Meanwhile, Terka follows her own plans to get the man she wants...
==Cast== [[File:Hyppolit, a lakáj.jpg|thumb|Éva Fenyvessy, Gyula Gózon, Mici Haraszti and Gyula Kabos in ''Hyppolit, the Butler'']] * [[Gyula Csortos]] as Hyppolit * [[Gyula Kabos]] as Mátyás Schneider * [[Mici Haraszti]] as Schneider's Wife * Éva Fenyvessy as Terka, Schneider's Daughter * [[Gyula Gózon]] as Makáts, Terka's suitor * Mici Erdélyi as Mimi, a Night Club Dancer * [[Pál Jávor (actor)|Pál Jávor]] as István Benedek * Sándor Góth as City Councillor * [[Ernõ Szenes]] as Tóbiás * [[Marcsa Simon]] as Julcsa * Jenő Herczeg * István Bársony * Lajos Gárdonyi * Ferenc Pázmán * [[Andor Sárossy]] * Elvira Horváth as Physical Instructor * [[Zoltán Makláry]] * László Rehberger as Cook * [[Gusztáv Vándory]]
==Subsequent history== The film was shown again in Hungarian cinemas in 1945, 1956 and 1972.<ref>According to the booklet of the DVD edition of the restored version (2008).</ref> It is also shown regularly on the small screen and is still popular with viewers.
Almost eighty years after its premiere, in 2008, the original film was digitally restored by the Hungarian National Film Archive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmintezet.hu/uj/english/|title=Hungarian National Film Archive|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmarchives-online.eu/news-2/news-archive/view?set_language=it|title=News Archive — filmarchives online|website=www.filmarchives-online.eu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.efgproject.eu/news.php?area=News&pag=46|title=European Film Gateway News|website=www.efgproject.eu}}</ref> The restored version erroneously awarded director Sekely a writing credit that does not appear in either the original film titles<ref>{{YouTube|-4fB55M3R4o}}</ref> or in any subsequent documentation. It has been released on [[DVD]] and [[Blu-ray]].
== Notes == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb title|title=Hyppolit, a lakáj|id=0021985}} * {{TCMDb title|id=554812}} * [https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A06E3DE1738E333A25757C0A9679C946294D6CF 1933 review] in [[The New York Times]] * https://easterneuroepeanfilms.blogspot.com/2011_05_01_archive.html
{{Steve Sekely}}
[[Category:1931 films]] [[Category:1931 comedy films]] [[Category:Hungarian black-and-white films]] [[Category:1930s Hungarian-language films]] [[Category:1930s Hungarian films]] [[Category:Films directed by Steve Sekely]] [[Category:Hungarian multilingual films]] [[Category:Hungarian comedy films]] [[Category:1931 multilingual films]] [[Category:Films scored by Mihály Eisemann]] [[Category:Hungarian-language comedy films]]