A Flirt with Miss Stříbrná

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1969

Production year

1968—1969

Premiere

19 September 1969

Runtime

76 min

Category

film

Genre

drama, psychological

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Flirt se slečnou Stříbrnou

Czech title

Flirt se slečnou Stříbrnou

English title

A Flirt with Miss Stříbrná

Summary

In the 1960s, filmmakers were primarily interested in the work of Josef Skvorecký in the context of the detective genre, or rather the character of the eccentric criminal investigator – Lieutenant Borůvka. The writer himself actually collaborated on the drama Farářův konec (The End of a Priest, 1968) by the director Evald Schorm as well as on the adaptation of his own social-novel-cum-detective story Lvíče (The Lion Club), called Flirt se slečnou Stříbrnou (A Flirt with Miss Stříbrná). In January 1969, Škvorecký emigrated, but the novel and his film adaptation still managed to reach the public (encroaching censorship, however, banned the second edition of The Lion Club and its Václav Gajer's film was “locked in the vault.”). Unlike the original material, the film deals primarily with the relationships of the beautiful Lenka Stříbrná, who resists the advances of the publishing editor Karel Leden. Only at the end, does this experienced seducer of women, who genuinely falls in love with the secretive and inaccessible lady, realise what the longstanding reasons are for her current behaviour... The book is set at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, but Škvorecký and his co-screenwriter updated the story and abandoned the inner monologue of the main hero. Nonetheless, the Holocaust theme makes Gajer’s film one of a handful of domestic movies devoted to the fate of the Jews in the Second World War. Although the adaptation lacks the layers of Skvorecký’s original story, A Flirt with Miss Stříbrná represents an interesting experiment with the rules of a love story that unexpectedly culminates with a “mystery” plot. The acting is also one of the undisputed qualities of the film, which is dominated by Jan Kačer as Leden, who goes from being a self-confident bon vivant rising above all the pitfalls of the publishing world of that time to a disappointed man who is unhappily in love. Miss Stříbrná was to become one of Marie Drahokoupilová's most outstanding roles.

Synopsis

Gymnastics professor Vašek Žamberk would like to get closer to Miss Lenka Stříbrná. He invites her to races and introduces her to his friend Karel, editor in a big publishing house. Karel, an experienced seducer, seizes the opportunity. But it seems that the girl is far more interested in Karel's superior, editor-in-chief Procházka. Karel, who is capable of brilliantly navigating his way through all the difficulties of the Communist regime, does not give up. He endeavours to win Lenka over, the more so since he has really fallen in love with her. Procházka organizes a get-together for his company at Slapy. Lenka also shows up at the party and again takes no notice of anybody but the boss. In the morning, the guests learn that Procházka has drowned. They all believe his death was an accident, since he spent the entire night drinking excessively. Then again, one of the editors claims that he saw a female figure in the boat with their boss. Only now does Karel put together the apparently insignificant details of his encounter and contact with Lenka, and he arrives at the truth. His boss was the fiancé of Lenka's sister. She was a Jewess and as such, fated for a German concentration camp. Her fiancé could have saved her by marrying her, but did not help and so the entire Stříbrný family was gassed. Lenka is the only one to have survived. During their evening sail on the boat, she told Procházka who she was, and then it was enough not to give him a helping hand.

Cast

Marie Drahokoupilová

Lenka Stříbrná

Jan Kačer

redaktor dr. Karel Leden

Pavel Landovský

profesor tělocviku Vašek Žamberk

Milena Zahrynowská

Voice by Alena Kreuzmannová
tanečnice Věra Bendová

Ilja Prachař

šéfredaktor Emil Procházka

Lída Vostrčilová

Procházkova žena

Jiřina Jirásková

redaktorka Dáša Blumenfeldová

Zdeněk Řehoř

spisovatel Josef Kopanec

Martin Štěpánek

redaktor Hartman

Jorga Kotrbová

spisovatelka Cibulová

Vladimír Krška

spisovatel Andres

Marcela Martínková

redaktorka Pecáková

Mirko Musil

fotoreportér

Eva Olmerová

zpěvačka

Jaroslava Panenková

prodavačka Danešová

Jan Pohan

poručík VB

Miloslav Novák

člen redakční rady

Karel Engel

člen redakční rady

Milan Frkal

člen redakční rady

Karel Souček

člen redakční rady

Otto Mojžíš

host

Karel Kryška

spisovatel

Jaroslav Mařan

spisovatel

Václav Kotva

muž od stanu

Jana Čepková

tanečnice

René Gabzdyl

tanečník

Táňa Blažejová

tanečnice

Karel Klement

tanečník

Alena Mlčochová

tanečnice

Vratislav Mikšaník

tanečník

František Halmazňa

tanečník

Jaroslav Vesecký

tanečník

Petr Zámostný

tanečník

O. Hepnerová

tanečnice

Eva Polášková

tanečnice

Ladislav Dvořák (2)

barman

Jiří Sládek (2)

hudebník

Jan Šašinka

hudebník

Karel Vágner

hudebník

Jaromír Vrba

hudebník

Milan Mach

Bartoš

Václav Fišer

muž v montérkách

Jaroslav Šebek

akademik

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Bohumil Kouba

Assistant Director

Josef Sandr

Screenstory

Zdeněk Mahler

Based on

Josef Škvorecký (Lvíče – román)

Director of Photography

Jan Čuřík

Second Unit Photography

Oldřich Hubáček

Camera Operator

Stanislav Šťastný

Production Designer

Vladimír Labský

Assistent Production Designer

Aleš Voleman

Set Designer

Viktor Fixl, Josef Calta, Václav Šebek

Costume Designer

Olga Dimitrovová

Film Editor

Zdeněk Stehlík

Assistant Film Editor

Jana Šimůnková

Sound Designer

Milan R. Novotný

Production Manager

Jiří Bečka

Unit Production Manager

Olga Mimrová, Josef Hudlička

Unit Production Manager

Jaroslava Pražská

Cooperation

Eva Truchlá (klapka), Jan Kuděla (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Luboš Fišer

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Songs

Divnej chlap

Singer Eva Olmerová

Teče voda, teče

Production info

Original Title

Flirt se slečnou Stříbrnou

Czech Title

Flirt se slečnou Stříbrnou

English Title

A Flirt with Miss Stříbrná

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

drama, psychological

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1969

Production Year

1968—1969

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 15 May 1968
technical Screenplay approved 25 July 1968
start of filming 6 October 1968
end of filming 27 February 1969
the first film copy approved 30 May 1969
projection approval 12 June 1969

Premiere

premiere 11 September 1969 /unsuitable for youths/ (kina Metro /3 týdny/ a Paříž /4 týdny od 18. 9./, Praha)
premiere 19 September 1969 /unsuitable for youths/ (celostátní)
renewed premiere 1 May 1990 /unsuitable for youths/

Studio

Barrandov

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů (původní 1969 a obnovená 1990)

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Šebor – Bor, Vladimír Bor (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Jiří Šebor (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

76 min

Original length in metres

2 161 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