Hurly-Burly in a Circus
Typology
featureLenght
longCzech title
Cirkus v cirkuseRuntime
131 minCountry
Czechoslovakia, Union of Soviet Socialist RepublicsCopyright
1975Production year
1975Premiere
13.02.1976Language version
CzechDirector
Oldřich LipskýSummary
The director Oldřich Lipský was a big fan of the circus. This was evident in his very first film, a comedy titled Cirkus bude! (The Show Is On, 1954). He returned to his favourite venue several times, whether in the documentary Cirkus jede (The Circus is Coming, 1960) or in the comedies 6 medvědů s Cibulkou (Six Bears and Cibulka, 1972) or Cirkus v cirkuse (Hurly-Burly in a Circus, 1975). He did not live to see the realisation of his dream project, the Cirkus Humberto TV series (1968), for which he wrote the screenplay. Cirkus v cirkuse was thus Lipský’s farewell to his beloved ring. The screenplay for the Soviet-Czech project was written by Miloš Macourek, who combined the performance of the Moscow circus, which Lipský had studied with the loving passion of a documentarist, with a fantastic story about a congress of zoophilologists. The British scientist, Dr. Whistler (Iva Janžurová), ventures that if her Czech colleague Professor Růžička (Jiří Sovák) can teach an elephant to sing, she will eat her hat.
Synopsis
To Moscow have arrived the participants of the international conference of the zoophilologists and also the international jury which is to elect for the world festival the best performance of the programme of Moscow circus. Mrs Whistler, British associate professor, makes her understood with the animals in their language but the Czech professor Růžička, though he is capable of using the animals language, prefers teaching the animals the human language. Růžička's friend, the poodle Archibald, speaks "in Human" very well. The scientific dispute ends with a stake - if Růžička teaches the circus elephant to sing, Mrs Whistler will eat up her hat. In circus there starts the programme. Nobody suspects that Gríša, an unsuccesful suitor of charming Táňa, daughter of the director of the circus, out of jealousy and vengeance intentionally tampers with everything. He even slanders at the director a young and talented waiter Aljoša, Táňa's new love, saying he is a drinker. The hypnotist sends the associate professor, who is interfering, to sleep and Růžička teaches the elephant to sing. However, the reward - two buckets of ice-cream - cause heavy hoarseness to the elephant. Gríša has prepared a trap on Aljoša, lemonade with sleeping draught, which is drunk by mistake by the hypnotist who then falls asleep in the middle of his performance. But the spectators have a wonderful time and are amused by circus performers, jugglers, training of animals and most of all by the comic performances - altogether the consequences of Gríša's treacherous activity. Love causes that Táňa and Aljoša fly up over the night town. Poodle Archibald discloses to the director who is guilty of all the collapses. At the end the elephant sings up and Mrs Whistler, in front of the spectators, has to take a bite into her hat which she unsuccesfully attempted to get rid of at the backstage. But with surprise she finds out that it is a cake just as gentleman Růžička had it made. The jury decides to accept for the festival the whole programme.
Photos
Cast
Jevgenij Leonov
ředitel cirkusu
Jiří Sovák
profesor Růžička
Iva Janžurová
britská docentka Elisabeth Whistle
Alexandr Leňkov
číšník Aljoša
Natalja Varlej
Táňa, dcera ředitele
Leonid Kuravlev
Gríša
Savelij Kramarov
zřízenec Lopuchov
Marie Drahokoupilová
francouzská porotkyně
Zdeněk Dítě
italský porotce
Lubomír Lipský
český porotce Lopata
Oldřich Velen
norský porotce
Ján Mistrík
indický zoofilolog
Alexej Smirnov
hypnotizér Evard Spiridonovič Smir
Jurij Volyncev
inspicient Alexandr Borisovič
Jevgenij Morgunov
žárlivý manžel
Josef Hlinomaz
ošetřovatel slonů Nikolaj
Karel Effa
veterinář
František Filipovský
reportér
Otto Hudrlík
holandský zoofilolog
Karel Hovorka
bulharský zoofilolog
Ludmila Mihulková
německá zoofiloložka
Lubomír Kostelka
francouzský zoofilolog Jean Leriqu
Jiří Lír
italský zoofilolog
Václav Lohniský
polský zoofilolog
Vojtěch Přidal
jugoslávský zoofilolog
Viktor Parkán
švýcarský zoofilolog
Miroslav Svoboda
španělský zoofilolog
Bořek Voráč
švýcarský zoofilolog
Jaroslava Schallerová
sekretářka zoofilologů
Vladimír Ječný
ošetřovatel slonů
Jiří Kosek
letec Aeroflotu
Otto Lackovič
číšník
Viktor Maurer
číšník
Václav Prostějovský
číšník u zoofilologů
Helena Postránecká
krásná akvabela
Stanislav Remunda
cirkusák-artista
Vladimír Tišer
cirkusák-artista
Karel Engel
muž v bílém
Saša Aišmanová
baletka
Ingrid Bernáthová
baletka
Dalimila Fröhlichová
baletka
Sabina Folprechtová
baletka
Jitka Kloubková
baletka
Radoslava Knechtová
baletka
Eva Sodomová
baletka
Pavel Veselý
tanečník
Naděžda Repina
Máša, manželka žárlivého muže
Pavel Vinnik
divák
Alexandr Sorokoletov
otec holčiček
Michaela Drozdovskaja
matka holčiček
Grigorij Špigel
Anatolij Golik
Alice Kludská
dubl za medvěda
Hana Cinková
dubl za Varlejovou
Jiří Chrastil
dubl za Leňkova
A. Abakamov
leki-dagestánský provazochodec
I. Bessarab
akrobat na hrazdách
R. Bellej
uzbecký akrobat s velbloudy
E. Bernadskij
akrobat s kruhem
E. Bubnovova
vzdušná gymnastika
J. Bugrimova
drezura lvů
A. Bondarev
akrobat - obří kroky
Lilija Davidovič
rýnská kola
D. Tuganova
rýnská kola
V. Dovějko
akrobat s odrazným můstkem
V. Elfant
vedoucí skupiny žonglérů
V. Filatov
vedoucí medvědího cirkusu
Iriston
severoosetinští džigisté
L. Košťuk
akrobat na perské tyči
V. Lobzov
létající hrazdy
V. Maximov
čeremošzakarpatský skákač
A. Sokolov
volná drezura koní
L. Pikulinova
akrobatka na motocyklech
M. Širvani
krotitel slonice Rézi
S. Ščukin
E. Badakinova
T. Simoněnkova
Cirkus na ledě
žáci cirkusového učiliště Moskva
Dubbing
Josef Vinklář
hlas ředitele cirkusu
Michal Pavlata
hlas Aljoši
Marta Vančurová
hlas Táni
Rudolf Jelínek
hlas Gríši
Vladimír Hrubý
hlas Lopuchova
Karel Hlušička
hlas Inda
Mirko Musil
hlas hypnotizéra
Karel Vlček
hlas Alexandra Borisoviče
Svatopluk Skládal
hlas žárlivého manžela
Otto Lackovič
hlas číšníka
Crew and creators
Director
Second Unit Director
Aleš Dospiva, A. Razumovskij, Andrej Maljukov
Assistant Director
Zdeňka Slunéčková, Viktor Karásek, N. Bilimovová, Marie Hejzlarová
Screenstory
Screenplay
Miloš Macourek, Jakov Kostjukovskij, Moris Slobodskoj, Oldřich Lipský
Shooting Script
Script Editor
Camera
Second Unit Photography
Pavel Nečesal, Jan Němeček, Oldřich Hubáček, Pavel Dosoudil, Karel Hejsek, Karel Dobřichovský, Ladislav Chroust
Camera Operator
Production Designer
Set Designer
V. Čurinov, Josef Müller, Bohuslav Varhaník, Jiří Žůček
Costume Designer
Costumes
Make-Up Artist
Film Editor
Sound Designer
Special Effects
Jaroslav Kučera, Jiří Rumler, Ludvík Malý
Stunts
Zlatomil Fabinyi, František Faust, Josef Koch, Miloš Novák, Jaroslav Šimonka, Stanislav Tůma, Alexandr Vejsada
Production Manager
Jaromír Lukáš, Lev Kušelevič
Unit Production Manager
Milana Melcerová, R. Kalmykov, Miroslav Dousek, T. Varginova
Unit Production Manager
Jiří Synek
Consultant
A. S. Agadžanov
Cooperation
Mark Mestečkin (režisér cirkusu), Jan Kuděla, Dagmar Vrbovcová, Eva Bobková, Magda Hájková, Jan Sedláček (2)
Music
Music Composed by
Music Performed by
Music Conducted by
Štěpán Koníček (FISYO), František Belfín (FISYO)
Writer of Lyrics
Michail Ančarov
Singer
Jiří Korn, sbor
Choreographer
P. Grodnickij
Production info
Original Title
Cirkus v cirkuse
English Title
Hurly-Burly in a Circus
Working Title
Ať žije cirkus!
Parallel Title
Solo dlja slona s orkestrom
Category
film
Typology
feature
Genre
comedy
Origin country
Czechoslovakia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Copyright
1975
Production Year
1975
Premiere
13.02.1976
Production
Copyright Holders
Distribution
Creative Group
Technical info
Lenght
long
Runtime
131 min
Versions
Czech
Awards
Vítěz
Event: 48. ročník Ceny americké Akademie filmových věd a umění Oscar 1975
1976
Hollywood, Los Angeles / United States of America
Vítěz
Festival: 14. festival českých a slovenských filmů Brno
1976
Brno / Czechoslovakia
Oldřich Lipský