The Detour

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1968

Production year

1967

Premiere

5 July 1968

Runtime

85 min

Director

Josef Mach

Category

film

Genre

comedy

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Objížďka

Czech title

Objížďka

English title

The Detour

Summary

Josef Mach’s first film as a solo director, Nikdo nic neví (Nobody Knows Anything, 1947), was a comedy about wartime tram drivers. Nearly 20 years on, he revisited transportation as an underlying theme of sorts, in the satire Objížďka (The Detour, 1968). Thanks to ongoing repair work on a nearby motorway, traffic is diverted through the idyllic village of Květoliby pod Lípou, disturbing the quiet its residents are used to – and threatening a cherished century-old linden tree. But not everyone objects to the detour: “Tourism traffic” is a boon for the village publican and for local women – they experience a dramatic rise in their chances of meeting men and start to dress to impress. This forgotten film has a stellar cast, with Jiří Sovák as the village mayor, Jana Hlaváčová as a tourist agency head and Květa Fialová as a social worker.

Synopsis

Květoliby-under-Linden is a small town where everything follows an unremarkable routine. One day, however, everything changes – a busy highway is being repaired, and all the traffic is diverted via Květoliby. The inhabitants first observe the increased traffic reluctantly, especially when the cars begin to threaten the one-hundred-year old linden, but some of them gradually begin to adjust to the new situation. The income of the local pub increases and Marta, the pub's young manager, is constantly courted by drivers from abroad, to the great displeasure of her wooer, the chairman of the Municipal National Committee himself. The women begin to dress up and visit the local hairdresser Ticháček with unprecedented frequency. Even the long-single social worker Anna Floriánová falls in love with a sturdy Hungarian driver. The chairman, out of fear of losing his Marta, rather agrees to marry her. The great problem of the new situation is the precious linden which stands in the way of the cars passing through Květoliby. The tree divides the little town into two camps, but eventually falls down itself under the weight of its age. After some time, the detour is closed. It seems that peace and quiet would return to the town, but the citizens of Květoliby apparently got used to the new way of life and petition for the return of the detour.

Cast

Jiří Sovák

starosta Květolib Karel Kapr

Jana Hlaváčová

vedoucí pohostinství Marta Mocná

Josef Bek

instalatér Bedřich Vrtáň

Slávka Budínová

Růžena, Vrtáňova žena

Květa Fialová

sociální pracovnice Anna Floriánová

Vlasta Chramostová

listonoška Marie Čeplová

Lenka Fišerová

Cilka Čeplová, dcera listonošky

Milan Neděla

počišťovač Jarda Šmat

Jan Skopeček

kadeřník Jiří Ticháček

Oldřich Velen

pekař Jan Teplíček

Josef Chvalina

fotograf Houser

Jan Libíček

příslušník VB Lízal

Luba Skořepová

Anežka, Lízalova žena

Vladimír Hrubý

učitel řečí Šumichrast

Marcela Martínková

Šumichrastova žena

Zdeněk Najman

multimechanik Čačala

Edita Štaubertová

Čačalova žena

Karla Chadimová

slečna Tuhá

Jitka Cerhová

prodavačka Hana

Jitka Zelenohorská

prodavačka Dana

Milada Koubová

prodavačka Jana

Juraj Višný

Voice by Petr Haničinec
řidič Julius

Petr Mach

řidič Tomba

Lubomír Kostelka

řidič autobusu Tonda Šlapar

Jan Horáček (2)

Honza

Jiří Steimar

Němec Kubitzek

Luděk Munzar

řidič transportéru René Burda

Antonín Kramerius

řidič maďarského transportéru Géza

Petr Pelzer

Voice by Oldřich Velen
nadstrážmistr VB Máca

Zdeněk Braunschläger

řidič autobusu Buřič

Gino Hašler

cizinec Chanel

Karel Houska

řidič náklaďáku Klapka

Oskar Hák

Chroust

Vladislav Coufal

světák s autem

Jan Diviš

Charleton

Karel Engel

dřevorubec

Jiří Kasík

dřevorubec

Jaroslav Klenot

dřevorubec

Jindřich Sejk

dřevorubec

Josef Schneider

dřevorubec

Jiří Svárovský

dřevorubec

Jan Váňa

dřevorubec

Karel Vítek

dřevorubec

Ludvík Wolf

dřevorubec

Ladislav Fallada

Kaltengraber

Lena Birková

německá turistka

Anny Freyová

německá turistka

Milada Horutová

dáma s účesem

Alexander Paul

řidič Houska

Jiří Reis

světák

Vladimír Pospíšil

poručík Veselý

Commentary

Crew and creators

Director

Josef Mach

Second Unit Director

Jaroslav Pour

Continuity

Marta Kunstová

Director of Photography

Václav Huňka

Second Unit Photography

Emil Sirotek

Camera Operator

Emil Hora

Production Designer

Bohuslav Kulič

Assistent Production Designer

Věra Líznerová

Set Designer

Josef Calta, V. Koucký, Miloš Sršeň

Costume Designer

Karel Postřehovský

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Assistant Film Editor

Jitka Šulcová

Sound Designer

Jiří Kejř

Production Manager

Jiří Krejčí

Unit Production Manager

Josef Mojžíš, Věra Winkelhöferová

Unit Production Manager

Jaroslav Vondráček

Cooperation

Věra Mayerová (klapka), Josef Vítek (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Ludvík Podéšť

Selected Music

Bedřich Smetana (sbor Proč bychom se netěšili z opery Prodaná nevěsta)

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)

Songs

melodie pod úvodními titulky

Singer Linha Singers

Dej mi pár okovů

Song Composer Fred RoseHy Heath
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Štaidl
Singer Vlasta Chramostová

Plují lodi do Triany

Song Composer Jan F. Fischer
Writer of Lyrics Jan F. FischerOlga Fischerová
Singer Slávka Budínová

Production info

Original Title

Objížďka

Czech Title

Objížďka

English Title

The Detour

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1968

Production Year

1967

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 15 June 1967
technical Screenplay approved 3 August 1967
start of filming 24 August 1967
end of filming 1 December 1967
the first film copy approved 29 February 1968
projection approval 5 April 1968

Premiere

premiere 20 June 1968 /unsuitable for youths/ (kino Jalta /3 týdny/, Praha)
premiere 5 July 1968 /unsuitable for youths/ (celostátní)

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Šmída – Fikar, Ladislav Fikar (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Bohumil Šmída (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

85 min

Original length in metres

2 397 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