The Workman’s Overall

The romantic adventures of a wealthy factory owner with a beautiful Gypsy girl, who, overcome with jealousy, kidnaps the man’s child while he investigates (incognito) the disloyal and corrupt foreman in his own factory. His disguise is his old work overall in which he started his career many years before. The dramatic and spectacular work is the earliest surviving feature in Hungarian film history, starring legendary figures from the Hungarian stage: Gyula Hegedűs, who has a street named after him in Budapest, and Elza Szamosi, one of the first Puccini female singers of American and European opera stages.

Directed by István Bródy, The Workman’s Overall leans on a strong ensemble — Elemér Thury, Gyula Hegedüs, Ilona Hegedüsné Berzétey — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1915.