Clown Ferdinand and the Rocket

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1962

Production year

1962

Premiere

10 May 1963

Runtime

72 min

Category

film

Genre

children

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Klaun Ferdinand a raketa

Czech title

Klaun Ferdinand a raketa

English title

Clown Ferdinand and the Rocket

Summary

To achieve some economies, Jindřich Polák used costly props designed for his ambitious sci-fi film Ikarie XB 1 (AKA Voyage to the End of the Universe, 1963) in the making of another film, Klaun Ferdinand a raketa (Clown Ferdinand and the Rocket, 1963), a sci-fi for children. The lead character of this family movie was a household name in the 1960s and screenwriter Ota Hofman (who was to become a fixture in Polák’s filmmaking) made sure that Clown Ferdinand gave his young fans plenty of entertainment in his feature-film appearance. Ferdinand (Jiří Vršťala) is a friend to all children. It is thus no wonder that he finds himself inside a space rocket in the company of little Helenka, Honza and Jirka. The foursome soon discover that returning to Earth is no easy task, but Ferdinand eventually succeeds in averting a crash with the Sun and sets the spaceship on a homeward course. The part of Jirka is delivered by experienced child actor Hanuš Bor. Vladimír Horka (Honza) was later cast by Jindřich Polák in three parts of the Pan Tau (Tau) series.

Synopsis

An unknown space rocket approaches Earth. A state of emergency has been declared and evacuation ordered in the city. People all flee their homes except for the clown Ferdinand, who lives in a caravan at the periphery and, unruffled, prepares for a show. On his way to the theatre he finally realizes that the city is deserted. He doesn't meet a soul, except for Helenka, a little girl he encounters at the crossroads, and Honza and Jirka, two boys he discovers at the theatre. When he learns the news about he tries to save the children but drives his caravan straight into the rocket by mistake. The rocket takes off with the four of them on board. The children enjoy it inside the rocket and Ferdinand pretends that everything is in order. But soon the children get homesick. The clumsy Ferdinand tries out all kinds of handles and buttons, until he finally manages to change the spaceship's direction and set its course away from the dangerous Sun and towards Earth.

Cast

Jiří Vršťala

klaun Ferdinand

Vladimír Horka

Honzík

Luděk Kindermann

artista

Jan Kurčík

artista

Dubbing

Václav Štekl

hlas papouška

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Rudolf Jaroš

Assistant Director

Jiří Růžička st.

Continuity

Eva Mičulková

Screenstory

Ota Hofman

Shooting Script

Jindřich Polák

Director of Photography

Jan Kališ

Second Unit Photography

Alexandr Rašilov

Camera Operator

Oldřich Hubáček

Production Designer

Jan Zázvorka

Assistent Production Designer

Bohumil Dudař

Art Director

Vladimír Dvořák

Set Designer

Karel Lukáš

Costume Designer

Dagmar Berková

Assistant Film Editor

Eva Schmiedbergerová

Sound Designer

Jaromír Svoboda, Bohumír Brunclík (zvukové efekty), Jaromír Svoboda (zvukové efekty)

Production Manager

Rudolf Wolf

Unit Production Manager

Ludmila Tikovská, František Jaderník

Consultant

inž. Otakar Sedliský, inž. Jaroslav Jenčík

Cooperation

Ladislava Boudová (klapka), Miroslav Pešan (fotograf), V. Pohl

Music

Music Composed by

Evžen Illín

Songs

V Austrálii, Americe, Africe i Evropě

Song Composer Evžen Illín
Writer of Lyrics Pavel Kopta
Singer Václav Štekl

Takový den, jako je dnes

Song Composer Evžen Illín
Writer of Lyrics Pavel Kopta
Singer mužský hlas

Na Zemi jsou hezké věci

Song Composer Evžen Illín
Writer of Lyrics Pavel Kopta
Singer sbordětský sbor

Production info

Original Title

Klaun Ferdinand a raketa

Czech Title

Klaun Ferdinand a raketa

English Title

Clown Ferdinand and the Rocket

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

children

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1962

Production Year

1962

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 24 January 1962
technical Screenplay approved 27 May 1962
start of filming 17 July 1962
end of filming 12 November 1962
projection approval 28 December 1962

Premiere

premiere 10 May 1963 /suitable for youths/ (kino Orlík /1 týden/, Praha)
premiere 10 May 1963 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)

Copyright Holders

Národní filmový archiv

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Švabík – Procházka, Jan Procházka (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Erich Švabík (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skuipny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

72 min

Original length in metres

2 036 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

black & white

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Awards

Vítěz

Festival: 15. mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti a mládež Benátky

1963
Benátky / Italy