István Nemeskürty
Sentence of the Lake
A Film by Paul Fejos and Peverell Marley Rediscovered
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One of them, Tavaszi zápor (Spring Shower) or Marie, légende Hongrois, directed by Paul Fejos, has found a mention in the annals of film history. Paul Fejos (1898-1963), after directing a few rudimentary silent movies in Hungary, settled in the United States in the early twenties, acquired a degree in chemistry and medical biology. The Last Moment (1927), an amateur movie, achieved such success that large American studios contracted him to direct a few feature-length movies. Prompted by their success, the Osso Company invited him in the autumn of 1931 to direct a film in Budapest. He arrived, accompanied by the then perhaps most famous cameraman in the world, Peverell Marley (1899-1964), who had shot Cecil B. De Mille's movies (The Ten Commandments, King of Kings), and later the highly successful Alexander's Ragtime Band, among others.
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Although this story is clearly invented, there are a number of legends, superstitions, folk songs linked to Lake Balaton. One is the singular behaviour of the lake, of which Fejos was aware. Although Lake Balaton is larger than Lake Geneva, it is much shallower, with an average depth of only three meters—it contains fifty times less water than Lake Geneva. As a result, squalls can whip up extremely powerful and large waves, and even today can bring death to the unwary. Fejos knew of this, which was why he chose Balaton as the setting of his story. As an authentic picture of folk customs, social events appear in the background of the story, with the impact of real sociophotographs, to use a current expression. The sound track is also almost naturalistically original: conversations at the market, the sounds of vintage celebration, swearing, bawling, all authentic.
While scenes in Spring Shower, directed according to the wishes and constraints of the Osso Company, have the "folksy" quality of the popular theatre—Annabella wears a "matyó" peasant costume to church—Sentence of the Lake is notable for its authenticity (vintage, wedding, funeral, kermess).
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is a literary historian as well as a film expert and the author of numerous books on Hungarian culture, history, literature and films. He has also written screen-plays, the libretto for a rock opera and adaptations for the stage.
