The Lovers of an Old Criminal

The Lovers of an Old Criminal is conceived in the same spirit as other past films, with the only difference being that Vlasta and Anny are reunited here. Which is of course to the benefit of the whole very loose trilogy. Anny brought to Oceanfilm a new, very topical type of modern girl who, in contrast to her active life, dreams of marriage to a well-known criminal in a very romantic way. Anny as Fifi Hrazánková boxes and drives a car wonderfully, while taking wonderful care of her appearance and overall fitness with the help of a whole ensemble of maids. Each of the models she tries on is an unparalleled divine costly toilet that could be the envy of many a world star. And when she decides to become the famous wife of a thief, nothing can stand in her way. Then she'll be famous and star in a movie, you see. In addition, there is the wonderful storyline of Burian's twin games, the whole ancient tragedy with Betty Kysilková in the lead, and ending with the dashing J. W. Speerger. The Lovers of an Old Criminal also provides a whole series of progressive special effects shots, which Czech cinema had not wasted much until then. If you're interested in the further adventures of the likable Burian-Ondráková comic duo, you can see them in the wonderful audio and talking film Him and His Sister. (27.05.2010)

A crazy fun silent film, which is mainly talked about as a film by Vlasta Burian, but Anna Ondráková should definitely not be forgotten. Because when she walks into a room in a very short dress, with one hand on her hip, smoking a cigar, she is simply irresistible. She plays the unrestrained girl who craves adventure at any cost very charmingly and with a precisely measured amount of exaggeration. But what I also liked about The Lovers of an Old Criminal was that it allowed itself a level of ridiculousness that no other Burian film has. The best scenes are the ones in which the two aforementioned come together to either repel and attract each other, to dance the Apache dance, for him to massage her or to go to the robber's den for soup; however, the car ride to see the groom or the stories of how the cold-blooded criminal murdered one lover after another were also absolutely irresistible. I must also praise the music by the Nekonečno trio, which should definitely be released separately as a soundtrack, it deserves it. (19.12.2015)