A selfish self-centered widowed ruler, barely tolerated by his subjects and called appropriately enough, 'King Myself, First' asks his three daughters to name the measure of their love for him. When one of them says, "more than salt", he banishes her from the kingdom. Not understanding what she meant the King assumes love can only be measured by precious metals or one's own talent, the 'correct' answers from his other two daughters. The arrogance of the King leads him to gather all the salt in the kingdom and destroy it. Of course, this backfires as he slowly learns the universal value of the substance, and of course, the essence of his daughter's reply. With the help of the wise and magical old 'herb woman', the King also learns what it means to be a true and wise ruler.
Acting
Jan Werich's operatic selfishness—part buffoon, part tragedy.
Production
1955 Czech fairy-tale aesthetic: ornate, slightly unhinged, utterly sincere.
Writing
The salt metaphor: simple, devastating, universally understood.
Director
Bořivoj Zeman
Jan Werich
král Já I.
Vlasta Burian
kancléř Atakdále
Irena Kačírková
princezna Drahomíra
Stella Májová
princezna Zpěvanka
Milena Dvorská
princezna Maruška
František Černý
kuchař
Lubomír Lipský
princ chrabrý, syn Děloslava VIII.
Miloš Kopecký
chytrý princ
Miroslav Horníček
princ krásný, syn Alabastra XVI.
Terezie Brzková
stařenka kořenářka
Zdeněk Dítě
zahradník
Josef Pehr
dudák
Vladimír Ráž
rybář
Marie Glázrová
vdova Kubátová, podruhyně
Fanda Mrázek
celník Martínek
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Jan Werich was a beloved Czech comedian and satirist; casting him as a tyrant was deliberate national irony.
The salt motif draws from European folklore where salt symbolizes both preservation and the inescapable—without it, society itself decays.
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