Jan Sviták
| Jan Sviták | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
December 23, 1898 Plzeň, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | May 11, 1945 (aged 46) Prague, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia |
| Occupation | Film director, actor |
| Years active | 1928-1945 |
| Spouse(s) | Vilma Kocourková-Svitáková |
Jan Sviták (23 December 1898 – 11 May 1945) was a Czech actor and film director. He was an important exponent of Czechoslovak film in the interwar period and during World War II. Sviták was murdered shortly after the liberation of Prague in 1945.
Sviták was born in Plzeň, where his father worked as a clerk for the Škoda Plzeň company. During World War I, he studied at the Naval School in Pula and joined the Austro-Hungarian Navy. He was a crewman on the battleship SMS Wien, which was sunk on 10 December 1917. Sviták was not physically harmed in the catastrophe, and soon after, he was awarded the Bravery Medal but the sinking was a traumatic experience. It permanently marked his life, particularly his underlying attitudes and mental state. With the end of the War and the establishment of the Czechoslovak State, he devoted himself to theatre. He was engaged as an actor by travelling theatre companies, and went on perform in the theatres in Olomouc, Ostrava and Bratislava (as an ensemble member of the Slovak National Theatre), and at the National Theatre in Prague. His performances drew positive responses. Several Austrian critics remarked his acting talents during his engagement in Vienna. In the 1930s, he was engaged by the theatre owned by the interwar Czechoslovak film and theatre star, Vlasta Burian.
Sviták took his first film parts in the late 1920s. His first roles in this silent era were in Podskalák, Plukovník Švec and Hříšná krev. These early roles were minor and rather stereotypical – army officers, adventurers and smooth intriguers. He took his first directorial steps in 1932/33, under Josef Rovenský's supervision, and soon became a prominent filmmaker in Czechoslovakia. In 1939, Sviták became director of the Foja film studios, in the Prague district Radlice, and took increasing responsibility for the administrative and organizational aspects of film-making.
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