Shots in Marienbad

Country

Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic

Copyright

1973

Production year

1973

Premiere

15 February 1974

Runtime

88 min

Director

Ivo Toman

Category

film

Genre

drama, historical

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Výstřely v Mariánských Lázních

Czech title

Výstřely v Mariánských Lázních

English title

Shots in Marienbad

Parallel title

Schüsse in Marienbad

Working title

Profesor Lessing / Výstřely v Marienbadu / Theodor Lessing

Summary

This 1973 crime drama from director Ivo Toman and screenwriter Václav Gajer was inspired by real-life events. The story, set after the end of the Second World War, sees a group of crime investigators dust down a murder case file from 23 years ago – the unsolved shooting of a German anti-fascist, professor Lessing. But insufficient evidence exists to charge the suspected killer, Eckert. And so the investigators must undertake considerable footwork, travelling from the town of Mariánské Lázně to the Prague archives in search of evidence. The criminal drama unveils the details behind a politically-motivated murder, set against the attractive backdrop of the west Bohemian spa town. A co-production with East Germany’s DEFA, the film stars Václav Neužil in the lead role as inspector Šedý, and Josef Abrhám as assistant Hanousek. Karel Hlušička plays the accused Eckert.

Synopsis

On 30 August 1933, a German anti-fascist and philosopher, Professor Theodor Lessing was shot dead in Mariánské Lázně (Marianbad a well-known Czech spa). The murderer fled to Germany. - In 1945, after the World War II, the police in Mariánské Lázně look after the security, headed by CID inspector Šedý and his assistant Hanousek. Irma Stich, a German national, announces to them a twelve years old murder. She even knows the name of the murderer who now lives in the town and works for a local garage. Hanousek has no interest in an old crime, because the police are busy anyway. Šedý, however, remembers the Lessing's case and wants to investigate it. Hanousek apprehends the murderer whose name is Eckert, but they cannot find sufficient reasons for his conviction. Moreover, Eckert controverts all the accusations. Major Fulín, Šedý's superior, prohibits further investigation. Nevertheless, inspector continues on his own. A former colleague of Šedý's, Mr Pacák, brings the investigation forward by informing Šedý about further details. He takes Šedý to the archives in Prague to look up the evidence about Eckert's guilt. Šedý is able to carry out a re-enactment and convict him of the joint guilt in the murder. Eckert is sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment. After his release, he is expelled to Germany.

Cast

Václav Neužil

kriminální inspektor Josef Šedý

Josef Abrhám

inspektorův asistent Václav Hanous

Karel Hlušička

Rudolf Maxmilián Eckert alias Förster

Bohuslav Ličman

policista Paleček

Jaroslav Pospíšil

policista Hovorka

Karel Hábl

policista Veselý

Friederike Aust

Voice by Jorga Kotrbová
Irma Stichová

Bohumil Šmída

inspektor Pacák

Wilhelm Koch-Hooge

Voice by Jan Skopeček
antifašista Willi Habermann

Zdeněk Dítě

major Fulín

Adolf Filip

policejní rada Kareš

Vladimír Ptáček

policejní agent Eberman

Brigitte Wähner

Voice by Eva Jiroušková
hostinská Krauseová

Zdeněk Kutil

Voice by Milan Mach
žalobce

L. H. Struna

Voice by Zdeněk Kryzánek
vrátný v archivu

Oto Ševčík

Voice by Bohumil Švarc
novinář

Pavel Pitner

Voice by Stanislav Fišer
novinář

Curt W. Franke

velitel Krejza

Thomas Kästner

garážmistr Müller

Walter Wystemp

strážmistr

Martin Angermann

dozorce

Victor Keune

Marcan

Günter Rüger

úředník

Hans Kopprasch

pekař Bür

Roland Kuchenbuch

Jan Stranner

Otto Manfred

příslušník RG

Hannes Stelzer

příslušník RG

Heinz-Karl Konrad

Voice by Karel Hlušička
Anton Eckert, Rudolfův bratr

Manfred Richter

Ernst Zitterbarth

Vojtěch Švojgr

profesor Theodor Lessing

Jiří Slezák

dr. Schwarzkopf

Vladimír Kotrlík

soudce

Jiří Šrámek

přísedící u soudu

Rudolf Wolf

zajatý německý důstojník

Pavel Pípal

policista-strážný

Lubomír Haluška

výrostek

Stanislav Trestr

výrostek

Olga Buzková

tanečnice

Jana Čižinská

tanečnice

Květuše Homolová

tanečnice

Karla Horká-Míchalová

tanečnice

Eva Krásná

tanečnice

Karla Krausová

tanečnice

Elena Lindauerová

tanečnice

Ivana Suchá

tanečnice

Eva Zakouřilová

tanečnice

Crew and creators

Director

Ivo Toman

Second Unit Director

Václav Gajer, Claus Dobberke

Assistant Director

Robert Vacík, Magdalena Davidová

Based on

Roman Cílek (Výstřely ve vile Edelweiss – reportáž)

Screenplay

Jiří Cirkl, Ivo Toman, Karel Cop (dialogy)

Shooting Script

Ivo Toman

Dramaturg

Werner Beck, Drahoslav Makovička

Director of Photography

Jiří Tarantík

Second Unit Photography

Jan Kváča

Camera Operator

František Kučera

Assistent Production Designer

Pavel Pitner

Costume Designer

Jan Kropáček

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Assistant Film Editor

Jitka Šulcová

Sound Designer

Dobroslav Šrámek

Production Manager

Rudolf Wolf, Uwe Klimek

Unit Production Manager

Helmut Bransky, Miroslav Smrček, Jiří Ulrich

Unit Production Manager

Jana Černá

Consultant

František Kruml

Music

Music Composed by

Jiří Šust

Music Performed by

Hudba Pohraniční stráže Federálního ministerstva vnitra ČSSR (Music Conducted by Rudolf Rydval)

Production info

Original Title

Výstřely v Mariánských Lázních

Czech Title

Výstřely v Mariánských Lázních

English Title

Shots in Marienbad

Parallel Title

Schüsse in Marienbad

Working Title

Profesor Lessing / Výstřely v Marienbadu / Theodor Lessing

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

drama, historical

Origin country

Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic

Copyright

1973

Production Year

1973

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 15 December 1972
start of filming 12 February 1973
technical Screenplay approved 4 April 1973
end of filming 7 September 1973
projection approval 21 September 1973

Premiere

festival premiere 17 January 1974 (25. filmový festival pracujících – leden ´74)
premiere 15 February 1974 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
premiere 21 February 1974 /suitable for youths/ (kino Jalta, Praha)

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Karla Copa, Karel Cop (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny), Zakázková skupina, Václav Cajthaml (vedoucí Zakázkové skupiny), Berlin (DEFA)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

88 min

Original length in metres

2 490 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech