Not all Orphans Are the Same

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1986

Production year

1985—1986

Premiere

1 February 1987

Runtime

79 min

Category

film

Genre

comedy

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Není sirotek jako sirotek

Czech title

Není sirotek jako sirotek

English title

Not all Orphans Are the Same

Working title

Hra

Summary

Actor and singer Ondřej Havelka has often been cast in the roles of diffident, courteous young men. In this 1987 comedy, directed by Stanislav Strnad, he plays Jirka Spěváček, a young village policeman. In his infatuation with the beautiful secretary Jitka (Jana Nagyová), he offers to take care of children whose parents have left for the harvest festival in a neighbouring town. The calculating Jitka blithely departs to visit a friend, and Jirka is left to deal with the little rascals who do everything they can to undermine his authority. It’s a good thing he has the help of the lovely pig-keeper Kamila to deal with the children, who are only causing a commotion because they miss their mums and dads. In the end, they even manage to capture a seasoned criminal… Josef Bláha, Vlastimil Brodský, Marie Rosůlková and many other well-known actors took part as odd villagers.

Synopsis

The members of the agricultural cooperative from the village of Křečovice leave for the cooperative in the village of Ořechov to celebrate the harvest home. The assistant Jitka, however, forgot to arrange the pioneers' camp for the children during their parents' absence and she is now in danger of having to tend to them herself. By some deception, she throws the responsibility onto the shy policeman Jiří Spěváček, who loves her platonically, and then she reputedly leaves to visit a girlfriend in Ořechov. Caring for a flock of mischievous children who keep inventing how to best torment the village is, however, not too easy and Jiří must intervene all the time. The boys move some traffic signs on the roads, they send a dog to steal some sausage from the local publican; they install an organ pipe in the chimney of the old Hadrabová's house, and even let the cooperative's pigs out into the fields. Jiří is helped with the pigs by their tender, the smart and resolute Kamila who is fond of the handsome constable. Jiří takes the kids - with the little girl Verunka Hadrabová among them - for an educational excursion to the regional police dispatching. But the children get busy there, too. They paint a moustache and donkey ears on the photograph of the wanted recidivist Fanta and steal a blackjack and two pairs of handcuffs. Meanwhile, Spěváček buys himself and Jitka tickets to the concert of the Czech star singer Karel Gott. He, nevertheless, soon finds out that Jitka is actually with her boyfriend in Prague. The unfortunate constable wants to leave Křečovice but his superintendent gives him a severe telling off for that decision. Jiří returns to his "orphans" and learns that the children misbehaved because they wanted to avenge their parents who did not take them to the harvest festival although they, too, had their share in the grain harvest. Spěváček takes them on a secret trip in return. When the children return, they sluice the village pond, thus discovering the hideaway of the wanted Fanta. Spěváček captures him with the help of Kamila and earns much popularity in the village for his bravery. Jitka is moving out from the village but Jiří already knows that Kamila is much better than her and moreover likes him, because he is such a "forsaken orphan".

Cast

Ondřej Havelka

strážmistr VB Jirka Spěváček

Vlastimil Brodský

penzista Klofáč

Josef Bláha

hostinský Pepa Žalud

Robert Vrchota

penzista Josef Mosazný

Radoslava Boháčová

Kamila Tvrdková, ošetřovatelka prasat

Jana Nagyová

Voice by Veronika Žilková
sekretářka Jitka Větrovcová

Alena Kreuzmannová

Marie Spěváčková, Jiřího matka, příslušnice Pomocné stráže VB

Miriam Kantorková

servírka Marie Vrbová

Marie Rosůlková

penzistka Mařenka

Lubomír Kostelka

kostelník Švejda

František Řehák

kapitán, náčelník obvodního oddělení VB

Vladimír Hlavatý

děda Rajman

Karel Vochoč

předseda JZD Hores

Míla Myslíková

družstevnice Hadrabová

Eva Kudláčková

Verunka, dcera Hadrabové

Jiří Kučera (2)

tlouštík Vávra

Milan Šimáček

Milan Landa

David Hlas

dvojče Žába

Daniel Hlas

dvojče Žába

Jiří Strach

Karlík Rajman

Jan Hajn

kluk

Lukáš Urie

kluk

Tomáš Hálek

kluk

Jan Cmíral

řidič Musil

Soňa Dvořáková

družstevnice Rajmanová

Karel Bělohradský

řidič nákladního auta

Adolf Filip

major VB

Vítězslav Jandák

praporčík VB

Vladimír Bičík

řidič osobního auta

Radmila Malá

manželka řidiče

Václav Sloup

praporčík VB Stránský

Vlastimil Zavřel

praporčík VB Oves

Marcela Martínková

družstevnice Březinová

Vladimír Míka

nadstrážmistr VB Zíka

Uršula Kluková

družstevnice Vávrová

Jan Kuželka

otec Vávra

Arnošt Proschek

příslušník VB

Jaromír Kučera

lesník Žába

Eva Řepíková

družstevnice

Igor Smržík

spekulant s lístky

Josef Calta

družstevník

Jaroslav Filípek

recidivista Oldřich Fanta

Marta Srovnalová

matka u autobusu

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Josef Loučím

Assistant Director

Robert Vacík

Continuity

Eva Kubesová

Screenstory

Josef Pohl

Shooting Script

Stanislav Strnad

Dramaturg

Karel Cop

Director of Photography

Jiří Tarantík

Second Unit Photography

Pavel Nečesal

Camera Operator

Lubomír Moravec

Production Designer

Karel Černý

Assistent Production Designer

Michal Krška

Set Designer

Milan Bábik, Jiří Matějka, Eva Slívová, Milan Tahotný

Costume Designer

Jan Kropáček

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Sound Designer

Adolf Böhm

Production Manager

Jan Syrový

Unit Production Manager

Lev Veltrubský, Jana Hauserová

Unit Production Manager

Helena Landovská

Consultant

Jaroslav Pavelek

Cooperation

Ivana Vlčková (klapka), Miloslav Mirvald (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Ladislav Štaidl

Music Performed by

Orchestr Ladislava Štaidla (Music Conducted by Ladislav Štaidl)

Songs

Svět je dlouhá ulice

Song Composer Ladislav Štaidl
Writer of Lyrics Boris Janíček
Singer Karel GottDara Rolins

Pábitelé

Song Composer Ladislav Štaidl
Writer of Lyrics Boris Janíček
Singer Karel Gott

Škoda lásky

Song Composer Jaromír Vejvoda

Heigh-Ho /píseň trpaslíků z filmu Sněhurka a sedmi trpaslíků/

Song Composer Frank Churchill

Production info

Original Title

Není sirotek jako sirotek

Czech Title

Není sirotek jako sirotek

English Title

Not all Orphans Are the Same

Working Title

Hra

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1986

Production Year

1985—1986

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 7 December 1981
start of filming 27 August 1985
technical Screenplay approved 18 September 1985
end of filming 11 February 1986
projection approval 20 March 1986

Premiere

premiere 1 February 1987 /suitable for youths/

Creative Group

2. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupina, Josef Císař (vedoucí 2. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

79 min

Original length in metres

2 292 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