Lemonade Joe (1964)
8/10
blazing Czechs
1 September 2014
The most famous western spoof in history is Mel Brooks's "Blazing Saddles". Another one is Oldřich Lipský's "Limonádový Joe aneb Koňská opera" ("Lemonade Joe" in English). This one combines the western spoof with the Ostern, a western genre in the Eastern Bloc. Basically, these movies were westerns that took a swipe at the US. One that I've previously seen is the East German movie "The Sons of Great Bear", featuring an Indian as the protagonist.

Anyway, "Lemonade Joe" pokes fun at the old western musicals. The main character is a jolly man trying to rid an alcohol-soaked town of booze in favor of a drink called Kolaloka (I see that they also decided to take a swipe at Coca Cola). In the process, Joe woos a young woman while fighting a dastardly villain.

I should note that the movie is basically a slapstick comedy. They incorporate sound effects to add to the humor, and Joe occasionally breaks into song (sometimes in English!). It's a pretty enjoyable movie, understanding the propaganda factor. I suspect that they had fun making it. Olga Schoberová sure is a fox.

I wonder if the Eastern Bloc ever made its own "Blazing Saddles"-type movie.
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