The Dynamite Watcher

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1960

Production year

1960

Premiere

4 October 1963

Runtime

23 min

Category

film

Genre

drama

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionstudent filmshort

Original title

Hlídač dynamitu

Czech title

Hlídač dynamitu

English title

The Dynamite Watcher

Synopsis

It's 1944. People can hardly wait for the war to end. The activity of the partisans inspires several workers from the stone quarry. The explosives manager Martínek makes an agreement with the old warehouse man Milec who starts taking dynamite cartridges out of the warehouse. They agree that he will always leave the package in the shed and the young worker Lojza will come to pick it up in the evening. To make an alibi, Milec goes to the pub which he hasn't visited for years, followed by his wife's secretive smile. The explosions on the railway line make the Germans start checking the warehouses. However, Milec's stock is in order. During one of the actions, Lojza and Martínek forget a dynamite wrapping on the spot. Now the German soldiers go straight to the place. Lojza is shot dead during his escape from the quarry. Milec's wife admits to her husband that she knew about everything, and tries to take the package out of their home in a cauldron with dirty clothes. The soldiers come to their house with an officer. In this hopeless situation, Milec's wife knowingly puts the cauldron onto the burning stove and she and her husband die together with the Nazis in the explosion.

Note

This film was distributed together with two other adaptations of Drda´s stories from the production of FAMU (Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts) Hatred and Footsteps, under the common title The Dynamite Watcher.

Cast

Eman Fiala

skladník František Milec

Eva Svobodová

Běta, Milcova žena

L. H. Struna

střelmistr Martínek

Ladislav Kazda

dělník Lojza

Ladislav Mrkvička

dělník Jarda

Jaroslav Raušer

komisař Glaser

Jaroslav Moučka

hráč karet

Oldřich Šembera

hráč karet

Josef Steigl

kontrolor

Olaf Petřina

gestapák

Aleš Pivoňka

gestapák

Jarmila Smékalová

hostinská

Ladislav Válek

řidič

Crew and creators

Based on

Jan Drda (Hlídač dynamitu – povídka ze sbírky Němá barikáda)

Screenplay

Pavel Juráček

Director of Photography

Milan Duda

Production Designer

Milan Nejedlý

Make-Up Artist

Otakar Košťál

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Sound Designer

Ladislav Hausdorf

Production Manager

Jan Černý, Artur Stacha (vedoucí výrobního štábu), Jan Liška (vedoucí výrobního štábu)

Pedagogical management

František Daniel (dramaturgie), Miroslav Hubáček (režie), Václav Hanuš (kamera)

Cooperation

Karel Holek (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Jiří Srnka

Production info

Original Title

Hlídač dynamitu

Czech Title

Hlídač dynamitu

English Title

The Dynamite Watcher

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionstudent film

Genre

drama

Student film

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1960

Production Year

1960

Production specifications

projection approval 12 February 1963
withdrawal from distribution 31 August 1976

Premiere

premiere 27 September 1963 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
premiere 4 October 1963 /suitable for youths/ (kino Lucerna /1 týden/, Praha)

Production

Studio FAMU

Copyright Holders

Národní filmový archiv

Technical info

Duration typology

short film

Duration in minutes

23 min

Original length in metres

650 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: 5. mezinárodní festival dokumentárních a experimentálních filmů Montevideo

1962
Montevideo / Uruguay

Vítěz

Festival: 3. festival českých a slovenských filmů Ostrava

1961
Ostrava / Czechoslovakia