Don’t Play Around with Devils

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1984

Production year

1984

Premiere

1 October 1985

Runtime

95 min

Director

Hynek Bočan

Category

film

Genre

fairytale

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

S čerty nejsou žerty

Czech title

S čerty nejsou žerty

English title

Don’t Play Around with Devils

Working title

Čertův švagr

Summary

Božena Němcová´s fairytale Čertův švagr (The Devil´s Brother-in-Law) has inspired several film adaptations. As well as two films for television (a 1969 production directed by Věra Jordánová and a 1984 outing by Vlasta Janečková), its storyline was also used to create S čerty nejsou žerty (Don’t Play Around with Devils, 1984), a diabolic comedy directed by Hynek Bočan. The screenplay, written in collaboration with Jiří Just, derives much of its comedy from an appealing depiction of Hell and its fiendishly entertaining inhabitants. The mightiest figure in the underworld is Prince Lucifer XIV. He uses his dark powers to help the young hero of the tale, Petr the miller, find happiness. In doing so, he must vanquish the greedy Dorota, who tries to take over the old mill, and then punish the rapacious governor who has ruined the princedom. He also helps his young protégé to become rich and to obtain the love of Adélka, the beautiful daughter of a local prince… In Bočan’s successful reworking of the fairytale, the devils do not merely serve as agents of darkness or comical fools but also as custodians of justice who help the people stand up against their evil and greedy adversaries. However, the true hero of this merry tale is the young miller Petr, who achieves happiness not only by means of a magical coat producing an endless supply of gold coins, but also because of his bravery and cunning. Don’t Play Around with Devils was a popular fantasy film among children thanks to intelligent humour that did not underestimate its audience. The narrative employs a traditional fairytale morality unhampered by considerations of age, sex, social status or background. Cameraman Jaromír Šofr and composer Jaroslav Uhlíř also made significant contributions to the film’s success. The versatile Vladimír Dlouhý starred as Petr. Karel Heřmánek (Lucifer XIV) and Ondřej Vetchý (Janek) played the devils with obvious zeal. Petr Nárožný also stole a scene as the nettlesome corporal who tries in vain to turn Petr and Janek into soldiers.

Synopsis

The miller Máchal lives in a principality with his family. But then, war breaks out and lasts for ten years. The miller is left a widower and tends to the mill with his son Petr. The reigning prince is suddenly impoverished. What the wars have not consumed was stolen by the greedy administrator or wasted by the pretty but selfish princess Angelika on her dresses. Her sister Adéla is pretty, too, but she is modest and kind. The château cook Dorota wooes the caretaker who advises her to marry the wealthy miller. The aging man gets fooled and indeed marries the greedy Dorota. She then immediately fires all the mill helpers in spite of Petr's protests and moreover forces the worn out miller to dance at a village hop. The man collapses and dies. Dorota even tries to get rid off the heir to the mill, Petr. The administrator gets her a warrant to arrest Petr based on false accusations. The Prince of Darkness, Lucifer XIV, has had enough of Dorota's sins and sends out the devil Black Horse to kidnap her to his kingdom. Dorota protects herself with feathers which the devils fear and also lets Petr's grandmother be kidnapped instead of herself. On his escape from the soldiers, Petr saves the life of the princesses whose horses stampeded. He is arrested and sentenced to military service in no time. The innocent grandmother must meanwhile work off the mistake of the confused devil whom she named Janek (Mulish). Janek returns to the world upon her intercession, but he fails once again. He gets drunk in a pub and a corporal recruits him into the army. Petr and Janek become friends and help each other against the bullying of the evil corporal. The ball where Angelína is to pick up a rich bridegroom does not turn out well and the offended wooers moreover threaten the prince with war. Petr helps Janek get the miller Dorota to hell. The grandmother gets back to earth in return and Petr gains the old coat which can create golden coins by magic. But as soon as the young miller puts the coat on, he acquires a dirty and devilish look. He distributes money to the poor and even the disguised prince comes to get support. Petr, however, recognizes him, promising him the the missing thousands in exchange for the princess's hand. Janek takes both the evil corporal and the sinful administrator to hell. Angelína rejects marrying the tattered Petr. But he saves up some spare money by his magic and takes off the coat which thus loses its magic powers. He then visits the château as a handsome youth. Angelína does not disdain him this time, but Petr prefers to marry Adéla. Angelína becomes the bride of the very Lucifer.

Note

The suggestive scenes from hell were filmed in a cave resulting from mining sandstone which, at the time, served as a potatoe cellar for the Soviet occupation army. The soldiers, however, agreed to the filming and temporarily removed the potatoes.The place was relatively small and the sense of space was achieved by using a wide-angle lens.

Cast

Vladimír Dlouhý

mlynář Petr Máchal

Ondřej Vetchý

čert Vraník zvaný Janek

Jana Dítětová

Anna Máchalová, Petrova babička

František Vicena

mlynář František Máchal, Petrův otec

Jaroslava Kretschmerová

kuchařka Dorota, mlynářova žena

Karel Heřmánek

pekelný kníže Lucifer XIV.

Josef Kemr

kníže Josef Sličný

Dana Bartůňková

Angelína, starší dcera knížete

Monika Pelcová

Voice by Naďa Konvalinková
Adéla, mladší dcera knížete

Václav Vydra

princ strašpytel

Vladimír Hrubý

čert Drápal

Gregorij Dymič

čert Myš

Václav Krejčí

čert Netopýr

Jiří Růžička

Voice by Radan Rusev
čert Medvěd zvaný Bachor

Vlastimil Bedrna

čert Pes degradovaný na králíka

Jan Bubeník

čert

Pavel Klapetek

čert

Pavel Kolár

čert

Luboš Ocásek

čert

Mil. Polinský

čert

Jan Šimek

čert

Vladimír Švabík

Voice by Mirko Musil
hospodský

Jan Skopeček

starý lokaj

Pavel Spálený

tlustý lokaj

Roman Holý

malý princ

David Schneider

růžový princ

Stanislav Winter

zrzavý princ

Jana Robenková

učitelová

Martin Hron

čeledín

Jaroslav Luks

šermíř

Václav Luks

šermíř

Pavel Cajzl

chasník

Karel Habart

chasník

Jan Kreidl

kuchtík

Zuzana Talpová

pomocnice v kuchyni

Jiří Kraus

mladý lokaj

Pavel Jiras

Voice by Radan Rusev
vesničan v hospodě

Milan Charvát

poddůstojník

Stanislav Oubram

poddůstojník

Jiří Schmiedt

poddůstojník

Ludmila Vybíralová

hudebnice

Zdeněk Pok

hudebník

Arnošt Richter

hudebník

Jiří Šťastný (2)

hudebník

skupina Regius

šermíři

Commentary

Crew and creators

Director

Hynek Bočan

Second Unit Director

Jiří Růžička st.

Assistant Director

Magdalena Mikešová

Based on

Božena Němcová (Čertův švagr – pohádka)

Shooting Script

Hynek Bočan

Director of Photography

Jaromír Šofr

Second Unit Photography

Martin Grošup

Camera Operator

Antonín Mařík

Production Designer

Zbyněk Hloch

Assistent Production Designer

Martin Malý

Art Director

Pavel Dvořáček (nástěnné malby), Jaromír Franta (nástěnné malby)

Set Designer

Karel Kočí, Jaroslav Česal, Miroslav Fára, Jaroslav Čermák

Costumes

Helena Vondrušková (vedoucí kostymérka), Ivana Vyhnalová, Iveta Trmalová

Film Editor

Dalibor Lipský

Assistant Film Editor

Erika Vojáčková

Sound Designer

Karel Martínek

Special Effects

Petr Rychetský (pyrotechnik), Karel Pánek

Production Manager

Jiří Beránek

Unit Production Manager

Miloš Zajdl, Vlasta Synkulová

Unit Production Manager

Luděk Blažek

Consultant

Zbyšek Svoboda, Václav Luks (šerm), František Michálek (jezdectví)

Cooperation

Alice Ronovská (klapka), Jindřich Aleš (vrchní osvětlovač), Miloš Schmiedberger (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Jaroslav Uhlíř

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)

Choreographer

Václav Štádler, Václav Luks (šerm)

Songs

Větře, větříčku

Song Composer Jaroslav Uhlíř
Writer of Lyrics Zdeněk Svěrák
Singer Monika Pelcová [dab]Ivana Andrlová

Ta naše hospoda

Song Composer Jaroslav Uhlíř
Writer of Lyrics Zdeněk Svěrák
Singer Ondřej Vetchýmužský sbor

Production info

Original Title

S čerty nejsou žerty

Czech Title

S čerty nejsou žerty

English Title

Don’t Play Around with Devils

Working Title

Čertův švagr

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

fairytale

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1984

Production Year

1984

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 2 February 1984
start of filming 20 February 1984
technical Screenplay approved 23 March 1984
end of filming 23 November 1984
projection approval 6 December 1984

Premiere

premiere 1 October 1985 /suitable for youths/
renewed premiere 27 May 2021 /suitable for all ages without limit/

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů (původní 1985), Národní filmový archiv (obnovená 2021)

Creative Group

4. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupina, Stanislav Rudolf (vedoucí 4. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupiny), Marcela Pittermannová (vedoucí 4. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupiny /dokončení/)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

95 min

Original length in metres

2 584 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm, DCP 2-D, BRD

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Awards

Vítěz

Festival: 16. mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti Chicago

1986
Chicago / United States of America

Vítěz

Festival: 7. mezinárodní filmový festival pro děti a mládež Tomar

1986
Tomar / Portugal

Vítěz

Exhibition: 17. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov nad Ohří

1985
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Festival: 25. festival filmů pro děti Gottwaldov

1985
Zlín / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Exhibition: 17. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov nad Ohří

1985
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia
Ondřej Vetchý

Vítěz

Festival: 11. mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti Frankfurt nad Mohanem

1985
Frankfurt nad Mohanem / Federal Republic of Germany

Vítěz

Exhibition: 17. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov nad Ohří

1985
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Festival: 23. mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti a mládež Gijón

1985
Gijón / Spain

Vítěz

Festival: 25. festival filmů pro děti Gottwaldov

1985
Zlín / Czechoslovakia