Crime in the Blue Star

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1973

Production year

1973

Premiere

22 February 1974

Runtime

88 min

Director

Antonín Kachlík

Genre

drama

Typology

featurelong

Original title

Zločin v Modré hvězdě

Czech title

Zločin v Modré hvězdě

English title

Crime in the Blue Star

Summary

The fact that director Antonín Kachlík had converged with the new norms in Czechoslovak cinematography imposed under the “normalisation” period was demonstrated by this 1973 historical feature. Despite its title, the film is essentially not related to the crime genre. Its narrative – devised according to a secondary plot found in Ivan Olbracht’s novel Anna proletářka (Anna the Proletarian) – outlines the exposed dirty practices of social democrats that have been targeted at working people. The story of a corrupted MP, Jandák (Karel Šebesta), who has enriched himself through a sinister business involving fire extinguishers, is connected to dramatic events centred on Hungarian revolutionary Kerekes (Vladimír Kostovič). In an act of vengeance, he kills a guard who has tortured him in jail… Script editor and screenwriter Václav Šašek, formerly associated with cinema’s Czechoslovak New Wave, wrote the screenplay for this feature. It offers a typical interpretation of modern history through “class”.

Synopsis

It is the year 1920. A newly established Czechoslovak Republic is still very unstable. Workers in Prague revolt mainly against profiteers and unfair money-lenders. Jandák, a Parliament member for the social democrats, throws a party in his luxurious villa. He gained the wealth together with his brother by unfair trade with extinguishers. He is afraid of being revealed, and this is why he refuses to join his brother in another dirty business. Jandák's son Jaroslav, a law student and editor of the social democratic daily Právo lidu (People's Rights) meets a Hungarian revolutionary Sándor in an old house gateway. Sándor narrowly escaped death in a Hungarian jail. Regardless his father's protests, Jaroslav puts Sandor up in his apartment. Later he gets a shelter at carpenter Plecitý's workshop. Sándor coughs up blood. Upon a medical examination, the doctor finds out that he has tuberculosis that cannot be treated at this stage. Jandák has a firm political influence, and the opposition decides to remove him from public life. An opposition representative Hradský shows him a compromising photo of his taken at a night club and documents on his unfair sales of extinguishers. Jandák is asked to publicly retract from his revolutionary ideas, threatening to go public with the compromising materials. Walking in Prague streets, Sándor recognizes a cruel jail officer Bélaffy, following him to the Blue Star Hotel, where he kills him. Jandák takes care of his defence at the court, but his plea becomes an accusation and condemnation of revolution. Depressed Jaroslav leaves home. However, Plecitý assures him that their fight will go on in a new revolutionary party.

Photos

Director

Antonín Kachlík

Second Unit Director

Lada Vacková

Assistant Director

Karel Brchel, Jana Vohryzková, Bohumila Velková

Screenstory

Václav Šašek

Based on

Ivan Olbracht (Anna proletářka – román)

Set Designer

Jaroslav Česal, Karel Kočí, Stanislav Krejča

Costume Designer

Zdena Kadrnožková

Costumes

Eliška Hofová, Věnceslava Vrtišková

Make-Up Artist

František Čížek

Film Editor

Jaromír Janáček

Sound Designer

Jiří Pavlík

Stunts

Miroslav Jíra, Jiří Kasík, Jaroslav Klenot, Jiří Klenot, Otakar Rademacher, Jindřich Sejk, Oldřich Semerák, Zdeněk Srstka, Jaroslav Tomsa, Jan Váňa, Karel Vítek, Ludvík Wolf

Production Manager

Jan Balzer

Unit Production Manager

Zdeňka Černá, Oldřich Mach

Unit Production Manager

Alena Lípová

Cooperation

Helena Matušková, Josef Kraus, Miloslav Mirvald

Music

Music Composed by

Vladimír Sommer

Selected Music

Bedřich Smetana (Večerní písně /Nekamenujte proroky/)

Music Performed by

FISYO

Music Conducted by

Štěpán Koníček (FISYO)

Songs

Stivín se točí /Ježíšmarjá/

Writer of Lyrics

Eduard Bass (Stivín se točí /Ježíšmarjá/)

Singer

Václav Vondráček (Stivín se točí /Ježíšmarjá/)

Choreographer

Josef Koníček

Production info

Original Title

Zločin v Modré hvězdě

English Title

Crime in the Blue Star

Typology

feature

Genre

drama

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1973

Production Year

1973

Premiere

22 February 1974

Production

Filmové studio Barrandov

Copyright Holders

Státní fond kinematografie

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů

Creative Group

Karel Cop

Sales

Národní filmový archiv, Obchodní oddělení

Technical info

Lenght

long

Runtime

88 min

Versions

Czech

Awards

Vítěz

Event: Cena Antonína Zápotockého

1974
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Antonín Kachlík

Crime in the Blue Star

Country

Copyright

Production year

Premiere

Runtime

Director

Category

Genre

Typology

Original title

Czech title

English title

Summary

Synopsis

Photos

Cast

Vladimír Kostovič

Vladimíra Pospíšilová

Čestmír Válek

Jan Lorman

Svatopluk Šíp

Miroslav Samek

Zlata Jeřábková

Soňa Žofie Kresáková

Luděk Kindl

Naděžda Zátková

Jan Sieber

Zdeněk Procházka (2)

Miroslav Rous

Jaromír Tobola

Renáta Fröhlichová

Eva Boubelíková

Marcela Hrušková

Dagmar Najdenová

Květa Střížková-Paulová

Helena Šafránková

Josef Endršt

Karel Novák (hudebník)

Josef Patroch

Čestmír Preclík

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

Stunts

Production Manager

Unit Production Manager

Unit Production Manager

Cooperation

Music

Music Composed by

Selected Music

Music Performed by

Music Conducted by

Songs

Writer of Lyrics

Singer

Choreographer

Production info

Original Title

English Title

Category

Typology

Genre