Roads of Men

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1972

Production year

1971—1972

Premiere

6 October 1972

Runtime

89 min

Director

Ivo Toman

Category

film

Genre

drama

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Cesty mužů

Czech title

Cesty mužů

English title

Roads of Men

Working title

Agent přijde za svítání

Summary

In the 1970s, pro-regime writer Ivan Gariš took part in several projects which were made to order for the “normalised” Czechoslovak state. The main characters of this 1972 drama, set in the 1950s, are members of the State Security Force who come to the village of Mezilesí to investigate the murder of a local communist functionary. They discover that the perpetrators are opponents of collectivisation, who are preparing a bold sabotage. The director of the film, which even today remains a good example of a genre work combined with ideological content, was Ivo Toman, for many years a specialist in politically high-profile film projects.

Synopsis

At the beginning of the fifties of the 20th century, shortly after the founding of the Unified farmers'cooperative in the town of Mezilesí, there is shot dead a functionary Málek by three unknown men. From the Prague headquarters of the police there are sent to the village two investigators, Laňka and Maliňák. The only one trace of the bandits are cans found in a desolate stone-pit in the surroundings of Mezilesí. But the bandits have tens of hiding places in the woods and the police lacks staff. Maliňák returns with other men to the village. The innkeeper Dolák, who is one of the members of the terrorist gang called Lesana, fearing of arrest, shoots dead Maliňák who does not suspect anything. Lieutenant Laňka starts a great operation to liquidate the gang. At the roads he places the guards which control every person. After presenting in cinema several photographs of the victims of the terrorists the police gains for collaboration also the citizens. The trace leads from two detained employees of the brewery to the member of the gang Říčan. He is secretly detained and at the interrogatory he betrays the names of others and also their intention to flee abroad. The agent from Frankfurt is arrested and Laňka for the sake of investigation goes under his name. Vašek, the orderly of Lesana, spent three years in the foreign legion and he does not wish to leave his homeland any more. What is more, he does not agree with the activity of the gang. Though he soon finds out that Laňka is not an awaited agent, he decides to safe-guard him. The first part of Lesana, including the wife of the leader of the gang Grůbel, leaves in a lorry but instead of abroad it ends up in prison. The rest of the group of the terrorists is leaving in a week. Laňka hands over to Grůbel the message of his wife and he grasps that it is a snare. He wants to kill Laňka but Vašek intervenes and saves his life. The terrorists are liquidated. Vašek is detained but within short, as a free man, meets lieutenant Laňka in a pub at the beer. Laňka drinks to him with a new way in life.

Cast

Karel Hlušička

vyšetřovatel poručík Laňka

Zdena Hadrbolcová

Věra, Laňkova žena

Karel Šebesta

podporučík Velecký

Zdeněk Kutil

vůdce bandy Grůbel

Jan Kanyza

záškodník Vašek

Jiří Wohanka

záškodník Bajgl

Adolf Filip

záškodník Pohora

Karel Dellapina

hajný Krušina

Inka Čekanová

Hana, Krušinova sestra, Grůbelova žena

Bohuš Pastorek

pracovník pivovaru Škareňa

Bohumil Šmída

pracovník pivovaru Říčan

Josef Bulík

vyšetřovatel Carda

Jiří Havel

vyšetřovatel Maliňák

Bohuslav Ličman

hostinský Dolák

Zdena Burdová

Dolákova žena

Václav Švorc

funkcionář okresního výboru Jiří Málek

František Marek

Voice by Mirko Musil
Motyčka

Ferdinand Šafránek

inženýr Zajda

Ladislav Šimek

Voice by Mirko Musil
předseda družstva Kaška

Karel Augusta

řidič Tatry

Jiřina Bílá

Bícova žena

Karel Bělohradský

řidič Mlejnek

Josef Burda

velitel StB

Jindřiška Gabriela Preissová

sekretářka Bártová

Jiří Šrámek

řidič Tatry

Tomáš Sedláček

mladý příslušník VB

Gustav Heverle

strážmistr Křepelka

Jan Faltýnek

agent Jiří Lesák

Jan Dejmek

zatčený vesničan

Josef Kudílek

Komárek st.

Karel Bartoň

Komárek ml.

Jiří Flíček

příslušník StB

Ludmila Grossmannová

starší žena ve vlaku

Pavel Jiras

četař ve vězení

Vladimír Klimeš

družstevník

Olga Bušková

Miluška

Václav Němec

strážný/mladý četař

Petr Skarke

podstrážmistr

Zdeněk Sedláček

Lojza/svazák/pozůstalý

Vlastimila Vlková

žena v okně

Commentary

Dubbing

Mirko Musil

hlas muže v hospodě

Crew and creators

Director

Ivo Toman

Second Unit Director

František Sádek

Assistant Director

Josef Sandr

Based on

Ivan Gariš (Cesty mužů – kniha)

Shooting Script

Ivo Toman

Director of Photography

Jiří Tarantík

Second Unit Photography

Jan Kváča

Camera Operator

František Kučera

Production Designer

Jaroslav Krška

Assistent Production Designer

Michal Krška

Set Designer

Rudolf Beneš, Josef Calta, Jiří Štípek

Costume Designer

Jan Kropáček

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Assistant Film Editor

Vilemína Binterová

Sound Designer

Jaromír Svoboda

Stunts

Karel Engel, Jiří Plachý, Jiří Sládek, Zdeněk Srstka

Production Manager

Jaroslav Prokop

Unit Production Manager

Jiří Holeček, Vlastimil Maršálek

Unit Production Manager

Václav Maršálek

Consultant

pplk. František Havlíček

Music

Music Composed by

Jiří Šust

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)

Production info

Original Title

Cesty mužů

Czech Title

Cesty mužů

English Title

Roads of Men

Working Title

Agent přijde za svítání

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

drama

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1972

Production Year

1971—1972

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 16 August 1971
start of filming 18 October 1971
technical Screenplay approved 23 November 1971
end of filming 31 May 1972
projection approval 5 June 1972

Premiere

premiere 5 October 1972 /suitable for youths/ (kino Metro, Praha)
premiere 6 October 1972 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Vojtěcha Trapla, Vojtěch Trapl (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny), Výrobní skupina Jiřího Šebora, Jiří Šebor (vedoucí výrobní skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

89 min

Original length in metres

2 495 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,66

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

Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu za rok 1972

1973
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Josef Picek

Vítěz

Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu za rok 1972

1973
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Ivan Gariš

Vítěz

Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu za rok 1972

1973
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Karel Hlušička

Vítěz

Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu za rok 1972

1973
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Ivo Toman

Vítěz

Festival: 11. festival českých a slovenských filmů Plzeň

1973
Plzeň / Czechoslovakia