Be Prepared!

The somewhat neglected Be Prepared! by Svatopluk Innemann was based on a screenplay by theatre personality and scoutmaster František V. Kučera, who also appeared in one of the roles. The picture, made by Poja Film, shows scouts at a summer camp in the vicinity of Orlík castle engaged in various exercises in proficiency, including lifesaving skills. The shoot involved the participation of boys from one of the Prague scout troops and staff from the Schwarzenberg estate. The movie provides rare documentation not only of the scout movement of the time but also of Prague as it was in 1923 and St John’s Rapids, now flooded by the Štěchovice Reservoir. The new tinted and toned copy was reconstructed by the National Film Archive in 2017-2018. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)