Hurly-Burly in a Circus

Country

Czechoslovakia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Copyright

1975

Production year

1975

Premiere

13 February 1976

Runtime

131 min

Director

Oldřich Lipský

Genre

comedy

Typology

featurelong

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.

Photos

Alexandr Leňkov

číšník Aljoša

Natalja Varlej

Táňa, dcera ředitele

Leonid Kuravlev

Gríša

Savelij Kramarov

zřízenec Lopuchov

Jurij Volyncev

inspicient Alexandr Borisovič

Jevgenij Morgunov

žárlivý manžel

Ludmila Mihulková

německá zoofiloložka

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

Crew and creators

Director

Oldřich Lipský

Second Unit Director

Aleš Dospiva, A. Razumovskij, Andrej Maljukov

Assistant Director

Zdeňka Slunéčková, Viktor Karásek, N. Bilimovová, Marie Hejzlarová

Set Designer

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

Costume Designer

Marina Zajceva, Vjačeslav Zajcev, Jan Kropáček

Costumes

Ludmila Ondráčková, Jaroslava Veselá

Make-Up Artist

František Čížek, Vlasta Ulbertová, Jaroslav Hruška

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Sound Designer

Josef Vlček, Arnold Šargorodskij

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

Vlastimil Hála

Music Performed by

FISYO, Orchestr Karla Vlacha

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

Typology

feature

Genre

comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Copyright

1975

Production Year

1975

Premiere

13 February 1976

Production

Filmové studio Barrandov, Mosfilm

Copyright Holders

Státní fond kinematografie

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů

Creative Group

Miloš Brož

Sales

Národní filmový archiv, Obchodní oddělení

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

Hurly-Burly in a Circus

Country

Copyright

Production year

Premiere

Runtime

Director

Category

Genre

Typology

Original title

Czech title

English title

Parallel Title

Working Title

Summary

Synopsis

Photos

Cast

Alexandr Leňkov

Natalja Varlej

Leonid Kuravlev

Savelij Kramarov

Jurij Volyncev

Jevgenij Morgunov

Ludmila Mihulková

Vojtěch Přidal

Viktor Parkán

Bořek Voráč

Vladimír Ječný

Jiří Kosek

Václav Prostějovský

Helena Postránecká

Vladimír Tišer

Saša Aišmanová

Ingrid Bernáthová

Dalimila Fröhlichová

Sabina Folprechtová

Jitka Kloubková

Radoslava Knechtová

Eva Sodomová

Naděžda Repina

Pavel Vinnik

Alexandr Sorokoletov

Michaela Drozdovskaja

Grigorij Špigel

Anatolij Golik

Alice Kludská

Hana Cinková

Jiří Chrastil

A. Abakamov

I. Bessarab

R. Bellej

E. Bernadskij

E. Bubnovova

J. Bugrimova

A. Bondarev

Lilija Davidovič

D. Tuganova

V. Dovějko

V. Elfant

V. Filatov

Iriston

L. Košťuk

V. Lobzov

V. Maximov

A. Sokolov

L. Pikulinova

M. Širvani

S. Ščukin

E. Badakinova

T. Simoněnkova

Cirkus na ledě

žáci cirkusového učiliště Moskva

Dubbing

Crew and creators

Director

Second Unit Director

Assistant Director

Screenstory