Scars of the Past

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1958

Production year

1957

Premiere

8 August 1958

Runtime

89 min

Category

film

Genre

drama, psychological

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Zde jsou lvi

Czech title

Zde jsou lvi

English title

Scars of the Past

Synopsis

Engineer Štěrba has had a motorcycle crash. The surgeons in the hospital fight for his life. Štěrba's co-workers from the Žofie Mine are all agog for the news. The story flashes back. Three days ago Štěrba was visited by the young engineer Vochoč who proposed to him a plan of how to use the old galleries. Štěrba turns down the plan, considering it a pure nonsense. Feeling lonely, with a wife cheating on him, and blind to the devotion of the copyist Vilma, he prefers alcohol. He is arrogant and unable to defend his opinions appropriately. Despite the ban, Vochoč with several miners nevertheless decides to realize the plan and goes down into the pit. At the same time, Štěrba is visited by his former teacher Hron. After a long time, the lonely engineer can have a sincere conversation. He himself used to be as enthusiastic as Vochoč; he even attempted to realize a similar plan. But there was an accident in the old galleries in which a man died. Štěrba got a suspension of a sentence, was expelled from the Party and transferred to a subordinate position. Despite that he kept submitting new proposals. But nobody trusted in him anymore; he started to drink and became estranged from his wife. He does not want Vochoč to ruin his life in a similar way. There is a cave-in in the mine. Štěrba dautnlessly manages the rescue operations. Trying to prevent the zealous miner Palivec from reporting the tragedy, he has the motorcycle crash. But now he is not alone any more and everybody is relieved to hear from Vilma that their engineer will live.

Cast

Karel Höger

důlní inženýr Alexandr Štěrba

Dana Medřická

písařka Vilma Hádlová

Jarmila Smejkalová

Jana, Štěrbova žena

Alena Kreuzmannová

důlní měřička Eliška

Svatopluk Matyáš

Ing. Radim Vochoč

Jaromír Spal

Karel Habrna, předseda ZV KSČ

František Kreuzmann

František Palivec

Oldřich Janovský

Vratislav Brousek, okresní tajemník KSČ

Felix le Breux

Antonín Kaláb, zástupce podnikového ředitelství

Václav Všelicha

účetní Houkal

Otakar Brousek

Ing. Janda

Václav Vydra ml.

náměstek na hospodářské správě

Eduard Dubský

elegantní kádrovák

Vladimír Leraus

starší inženýr

Oldřich Lukeš

dělnický kádrovák

Jiřina Bohdalová

sekretářka Jiřina

Svatopluk Skládal

vychrtlý mladík

Jiří Mikota

přísedící ve výboru

Eva Kožnarová

Jiří Papež

mladý lékař

Zdeněk Procházka

vedoucí záchranné čety

Zdeněk Jelínek

muž u psacího stolu

Jiří Pleskot

havíř s dynamitem

Jan Pohan

přítel Jany

Emil Bolek

vrátný

Bohuš Rendl

muž u psacího stolu

Vladimír Hrubý

inženýr Šoulek

Emilie Hráská

uklízečka

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Jaroslav Beránek

Assistant Director

Vladimíra Čečetková

Screenstory

Oldřich Daněk

Screenplay

Oldřich Daněk

Shooting Script

Václav Krška

Director of Photography

Jaroslav Tuzar

Camera Operator

Josef Pechar, Miroslav Sinkule, Miroslav Ondříček

Production Designer

Bohuslav Kulič

Assistent Production Designer

Věra Líznerová

Set Designer

Karel Baštýř, Josef Pavlík

Costume Designer

Fernand Vácha

Make-Up Artist

Miloslav Jandera

Film Editor

Jan Kohout

Sound Designer

Adolf Böhm

Production Manager

Antonín Bedřich

Unit Production Manager

František Štěpánek

Consultant

inž. Miroslav Šimůnek

Music

Music Composed by

Jan F. Fischer

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Production info

Original Title

Zde jsou lvi

Czech Title

Zde jsou lvi

English Title

Scars of the Past

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

drama, psychological

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1958

Production Year

1957

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 12 June 1957
technical Screenplay approved 13 August 1957
start of filming 18 September 1957
end of filming 29 December 1957
projection approval 15 May 1958
withdrawal from distribution 1959 (staženo k úpravě)
withdrawal from distribution 6 April 1973
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1991

Premiere

preview 1 August 1958 (kino Sevastopol /1 týden/, Praha)
premiere 8 August 1958 /unsuitable for youths/ (kina Blaník /4 týdny/, Veletrhy /1 týden/ a Vzlet /1 týden od 28. 8./, Praha)
renewed premiere 1 April 1987 /unsuitable for youths/

Copyright Holders

Národní filmový archiv

Studio

Hostivař

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů (původní 1958 a obnovená 1987)

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Feix – Daniel, František Daniel (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Karel Feix (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

89 min

Original length in metres

2 529 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