Hurly-Burly in a Circus

Country

Czechoslovakia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Copyright

1975

Production year

1975

Premiere

13 February 1976

Runtime

131 min

Category

film

Genre

comedy

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Cirkus v cirkuse

Czech title

Cirkus v cirkuse

English title

Hurly-Burly in a Circus

Parallel title

Solo dlja slona s orkestrom

Working title

Ať žije cirkus!

Summary

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.

Cast

Jevgenij Leonov

Voice by Josef Vinklář
ředitel cirkusu

Jiří Sovák

profesor Růžička

Iva Janžurová

britská docentka Elisabeth Whistle

Alexandr Leňkov

Voice by Michal Pavlata
číšník Aljoša

Natalja Varlej

Voice by Marta Vančurová
Táňa, dcera ředitele

Leonid Kuravlev

Voice by Rudolf Jelínek
Gríša

Savelij Kramarov

Voice by Vladimír Hrubý
zřízenec Lopuchov

Marie Drahokoupilová

francouzská porotkyně

Zdeněk Dítě

italský porotce

Lubomír Lipský

český porotce Lopata

Oldřich Velen

norský porotce

Ján Mistrík

Voice by Karel Hlušička
indický zoofilolog

Alexej Smirnov

Voice by Mirko Musil
hypnotizér Evard Spiridonovič Smir

Jurij Volyncev

Voice by Karel Vlček
inspicient Alexandr Borisovič

Jevgenij Morgunov

Voice by Svatopluk Skládal
žárlivý manžel

Josef Hlinomaz

ošetřovatel slonů Nikolaj

Karel Effa

veterinář

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

Voice by Otto Lackovič
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 cvičeného medvěda

Hana Cinková

dubl za Natalji Varlejovou

Jiří Chrastil

dubl za Alexandra 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

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Aleš Dospiva, A. Razumovskij, Andrej Maljukov

Assistant Director

Zdeňka Slunéčková, Viktor Karásek, N. Bilimovová

Screenstory

Miloš Macourek

Shooting Script

Oldřich Lipský

Director of Photography

Jaroslav Kučera

Camera Operator

Jiří Pechar

Production Designer

Karel Vacek, Georgij Kolganov

Assistent Production Designer

Jan Sedláček

Set Designer

V. Čurinov, Josef Müller, Bohuslav Varhaník, Jiří Žůček

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Assistant Film Editor

Eva Bobková, Magda Hájková

Special Effects

Jaroslav Kučera, Jiří Rumler, Ludvík Malý, Trikový ateliér FSB

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 cirkusového představení), Dagmar Vrbovcová (klapka), Jan Kuděla (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Vlastimil Hála

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán KoníčekFrantišek Belfín), Orchestr Karla Vlacha

Writer of Lyrics

Michail Ančarov

Singer

Jiří Korn, sbor

Choreographer

P. Grodnickij

Production info

Original Title

Cirkus v cirkuse

Czech Title

Cirkus v cirkuse

English Title

Hurly-Burly in a Circus

Parallel Title

Solo dlja slona s orkestrom

Working Title

Ať žije cirkus!

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Copyright

1975

Production Year

1975

Premiere

premiere 5 February 1976 /suitable for youths/ (kino Blaník, Praha)
gala premiere 12 February 1976 (kino Blaník, Praha)
premiere 13 February 1976 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Miloše Brože, Miloš Brož (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

131 min

Original length in metres

3 674 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,66

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

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

Vítěz

Event: Československá nominace na Cenu americké Akademie filmových věd a umění Oscar 1975

1975
Praha / Czechoslovakia