Six Bears and Cibulka

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1972

Production year

1972

Premiere

29 December 1972

Runtime

85 min

Director

Oldřich Lipský

Genre

children, comedy

Typology

featurelong

Original title

6 medvědů s Cibulkou

Czech title

6 medvědů s Cibulkou

English title

Six Bears and Cibulka

Working Title

Děti chtějí Silvestra

Summary

Director Oldřich Lipský’s lifelong love of the circus ring spilled over from filming performances to comedies such as Cirkus bude! (Show Is On!, 1954) and Cirkus v cirkuse (Hurly-Burly in a Circus, 1975), and to feature film documentary Cirkus jede (Go Circus!, 1960). It also manifested itself via a script for the television series Cirkus Humberto (which, following Lipský’s death, was filmed in 1988 by František Filip). But of all his circus stories, audiences expressed the greatest acclaim for Lipský’s comedy Šest medvědů s Cibulkou (Six Bears and Cibulka, 1972), based on a script co-written with experienced screen writer Miloš Macourek. This writer also had a hand in other Lipský films, including Muž z prvního století Man from the First Century, 1961); Kdo chce zabít Jessii? (Who Wants to Kill Jessie?, 1966); Happy end (1967); Zabil jsem Einsteina, pánové… (I Killed Einstein, Gentlemen!, 1969); “Čtyři vraždy stačí, drahoušku” (Four Murders Are Enough, Darling, 1970); Slaměný klobouk (Straw Hat, 1971) and Dívka na koštěti (The Girl on the Broom, 1971). Six Bears and Cibulka underscored the ability of this experienced duo to create quality entertainment – free of regime ideology and propaganda – even during the “normalisation” era as it played out at Barrandov studios. The title protagonist of this entertaining romp is circus clown Cibulka, who has found fame with his act involving performing bears. But, under pressure from the competition, the six furry stars are exchanged by the circus manager for six trained pigs. Cibulka is given the boot and finds new work dressed as a woman – as a cook in a school canteen. The pig act does not go down very well, and thanks to the intervention of some children, Cibulka and the bears (who have managed to escape) are returned to the circus ring... The animal stars made this project a challenge to film (they included Cibulka’s own domesticated chimp Tonda). Six Bears and Cibulka benefits from a phenomenal acting performance by the director’s brother Lubomír Lipský, who entertains viewers with various disguises. In this timeless classic, director Oldřich Lipský also utilises several other top-notch performers, including Miloš Kopecký, Jiří Sovák, Jan Libíček and František Filipovský.

Synopsis

Circus director Bonifác has two trained bears solving arithmetical tasks that he has elicited from three children sitting in the audience - Honza, Jarda and Marcela; in fact, it is their homework, which they would like the bears to do for them. The audience starts laughing when it turns out that the popular clown Cibulka and his friend, chimpanzee Tonda, have been hidden in the bears' skins. Real bears come after that and do their act: bemoaning the presumably dead Cibulka, they carry him away from the arena, humming a mournful melody. Then comes Švihák, the sleek director of another circus, and wheedles the bears out of Bonifác in an exchange for trained pigs. However, the pig acts are a fiasco. The children find a new job for the clown; disguised as a woman, Cibulka becomes the new cook at their school. The bears, who have managed to escape from a train coach, come to the school in search of Cibulka. Seeing them, the chairwoman faints; the trained bears lay her and also the caretaker on a trolley and, humming a mournful melody, carry them away to the teacher's office. In the meantime, mischievous Cibulka fills in for both of them. He polishes the floor in the corridor so much that the headmaster, school inspector and both circus directors trailing the bears slip on it. The real bears and the children wearing Cibulka's bear skins turn the school topsy turvy. The children make Švihák sign a pledge that he will swap the bears back for the pigs. They are then rewarded by a special free performance.

Film online

Photos

šimpanz Tonda

vepř Tonda

cvičený vepř

vepř Vašek

cvičený vepř

vepř Pepík

cvičený vepř

vepř Šmudla

cvičený vepř

Crew and creators

Director

Oldřich Lipský

Second Unit Director

Aleš Dospiva

Assistant Director

Michal Vostřez, Marie Hejzlarová

Screenstory

Miloš Macourek, Oldřich Lipský

Based on

František Kožík (Cirkus U tří slunečnic – kniha)

Camera Operator

Bohumír Schwarzer

Production Designer

Jaroslav Krška, Vladimír Labský

Set Designer

Ivo Černý, Miloš Osvald, Jiří Rulík

Costume Designer

Theodor Pištěk ml.

Costumes

Ondrej Brezovský, Jaroslava Haderková

Make-Up Artist

František Čížek, Václav Volk, Vlasta Hájková

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Sound Designer

Josef Vlček, Antonín Jedlička (zvukové efekty)

Titles Designed by

Vladimír Dvořák

Stunts

Josef Engel, Karel Engel, Zlatomil Fabinyi, Jiří Kasík, Milan Kindl, Jaroslav Pšenička, Jiří Sládek, Stanislav Tůma, Oldřich Vlasák (2), Jaroslav Vlk, Ludvík Wolf

Production Manager

Ladislav Novotný

Unit Production Manager

Jan Vild, Václav Havlík

Unit Production Manager

Martin Betoni

Consultant

Rudolf Tichý, Antonín Berousek

Cooperation

Věra Kadeřábková, Jan Kuděla, Jitka Šulcová, Československé cirkusy a varieté

Music

Music Composed by

Vlastimil Hála

Selected Music

Johann Strauss (Radeckého pochod /Radetzky-Marsch/)

Music Performed by

FISYO, Orchestr Karla Vlacha

Music Conducted by

František Belfín (Orchestr Karla Vlacha)

Songs

Castaldo

Songwriter

Rudolf Nováček (Castaldo)

Production info

Original Title

6 medvědů s Cibulkou

English Title

Six Bears and Cibulka

Working Title

Děti chtějí Silvestra

Typology

feature

Genre

children, comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1972

Production Year

1972

Premiere

29 December 1972

Production

Filmové studio Barrandov

Copyright Holders

Six Bears and Cibulka

Country

Copyright

Production year

Premiere

Runtime

Director

Category

Genre

Typology

Original title

Czech title

English title

Working Title

Summary

Synopsis

Film online

Photos

Cast

Josef Vytasil

Jan Kunstýř

Jan Míškovský

Tomáš Muchka

Vladimír Kunz (2)

Helena Peterová

Zdeněk Boubelík

Mojmír Miler

S. Kadeřábková

P. Marek

Z. Utěšilová

Jiří Sládek

Oldřich Vlasák (2)

manželé Mlčákovi

František Zapletal (2)

Št. Klumperová

E. Tichá

K. Dvořák

I. Dvořáková

Jar. Dvořák

V. Dvořák (artista)

M. Dvořáková

A. Janeček

Jan Kurčík

M. Mlčák

Augustin Růžička

G. Nemeth

A. Mlčáková

medvěd Valoš

medvěd Máša

medvěd Máňa

medvěd Regina

medvěd Džony

medvěd Ilona

šimpanz Zoly

vepř Tonda

vepř Vašek

vepř Pepík

vepř Šmudla

Crew and creators

Director

Second Unit Director

Assistant Director

Screenstory

Based on

Screenplay

Shooting Script

Script Editor

Camera

Second Unit Photography

Camera Operator

Production Designer

Set Designer

Costume Designer

Costumes

Make-Up Artist

Film Editor

Sound Designer

Titles Designed by

Stunts

Production Manager