The Mammoth Hunt

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1964

Production year

1964

Premiere

23 April 1965

Runtime

94 min

Director

Oldřich Daněk

Genre

music, comedy

Typology

featurelong

Original title

Lov na mamuta

Czech title

Lov na mamuta

English title

The Mammoth Hunt

Summary

Playwright Oldřich Daněk has several screenplays and directorial ventures to his credit, with the works often connected to his theatrical plays. He himself has called Lov na mamuta (The Mammoth Hunt), the 1964 screen adaptation of the eponymous play, an improbable musical and half-slapstick comedy. The motion picture is an absurdist tale that takes place in a cybernetic super-machine research institution. An ardent young man who says he is the inventor of a machine for predicting dates of death is hired. However, it turns out that he’s made it all up, simply to land the job. The situation tempts the scheming head of research to get shot of the director, whose place he would like to usurp. Lubomír Lipský, Miloš Kopecký and Josef Kemr all star in this lopsided tale, while singers Eva Pilarová and Josef Zíma also make cameo appearances. The narrative is enhanced by dance sequences and even by documentary shots which have nothing to do with the plot.

Synopsis

A young man tries to enter the building of the Mammoth Cybernetic Supermachines Research Institute again and again but each time the doorkeeper spots him and kicks him out. The youth finally arrives with all his friends and a huge live bear from the circus where he works as an accountant. He is finally allowed in where he explains to the members of the directorate that he wants to work at the Institute, since he graduated in cybernetics and, besides, he has invented a machine for forecasting time of death. When the conniving research manager learns that their director is going to die in two days, he hopes to rise to his position. The young man is accepted, works at the Institute and has a love affair with the director's daughter. The director is still alive and the ruthless research manager attempts to kill him to help the forecast death come true. The youth admits that he made up this piece of information. For him, the invention is irrelevant; he simply wanted the job. The sleepy life of the Institute gets back on the rails. The story features the young couple's dance numbers and chorus acts that guide the audience through the film. It also includes numerous documentary shots of both remarkable and everyday events from all over the world.

Photos

Mařenka

Josef Pivonka

vousatý mladík

B. Kleinberg

tančící muž

Commentary

Miroslav Horníček

Dubbing

Jan Tříska

hlas mladíka

Jaroslava Tvrzníková

hlas dcery ředitele

Crew and creators

Director

Oldřich Daněk

Second Unit Director

Milan Kadlec

Assistant Director

Marie Kaplanová, Zdenka Barochová

Based on

Oldřich Daněk (Lov na mamuta – divadelní hra)

Cooperation

Marcela Jakubcová, Věra Líznerová

Music

Music Composed by

Jan F. Fischer

Selected Music

Bedřich Smetana (Prodaná nevěsta /árie Věrné naše milování/ – opera)

Music Performed by

FISYO, Orchestr Karla Krautgartnera, Orchestr Karla Vlacha, Orchestr Ferdinanda Havlíka, Ladislav Simon (elektronická hudba)

Music Conducted by

František Belfín (FISYO), Karel Krautgartner (Orchestr Karla Krautgartnera), Karel Vlach (Orchestr Karla Vlacha), Ferdinand Havlík (Orchestr Ferdinanda Havlíka)

Singer

Josef Zíma, Eva Pilarová, Jana Petrů, Miroslav Horníček, Jana Malknechtová, Rudolf Pellar, Pavel Vitoch, Richard Kubernát, Miroslav Šuba

Choreographer

Jiří Blažek (herec), Josef Pivonka

Production info

Original Title

Lov na mamuta

English Title

The Mammoth Hunt

Typology

feature

Genre

music, comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1964

Production Year

1964

Premiere

23 April 1965

Production

Filmové studio Barrandov

Copyright Holders

Státní fond kinematografie

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů

Creative Group

Novotný – Kubala, Bedřich Kubala, Ladislav Novotný

Sales

Národní filmový archiv, Obchodní oddělení

Technical info

Lenght

long

Runtime

94 min

Versions

Czech

The Mammoth Hunt

Country

Copyright

Production year

Premiere

Runtime

Director

Category

Genre

Typology

Original title

Czech title

English title

Summary

Synopsis

Photos

Cast

Jana Houkalová

Daniela Dostálová

Karla Hetešová

Helena Holubová

Helena Lombardová

L. Jarolímek

K. Šimek

Karel Křeček

Boh. Lopatka

Václav Klíma

Z. Dolejší

M. Gajda

M. Dolejší

F. Bernát

Bernátová

Jan Janeček

K. Málek

A. Málková

F. Moravski

R. Navrátil

V. Opplt

E. Říha

Řízek

F. Skierka

M. Skierková

Josef Šmíd

K. Šmídová

Vilém Štipka

J. Štolfa

A. Šupka

M. Šupková

Vocásek

Hilda Zoppe

Vladimír Brož

Lubomír Pánek

Čestmír Preclík

Zdeněk Procházka (2)

Zdeněk Pulec

Jaroslav Štrudl

Jaroslav Boťa

Zdeněk Hanžl

J. Štengl

Bohumil Zoula

Jar. Indra

M. Borský

Zdena Pavlátová

B. Kleinberg

Commentary

Dubbing

Crew and creators

Director

Second Unit Director

Assistant Director

Based on

Screenplay

Shooting Script

Camera

Second Unit Photography

Camera Operator

Production Designer

Set Designer

Costume Designer

Costumes