The Songs of the Imprisoned

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1926

Production year

1926

Premiere

1 July 1927

Runtime

82 min

Category

film

Genre

melodrama

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Písně vězněného

Czech title

Písně vězněného

English title

The Songs of the Imprisoned

Parallel title

Pro cizí vinu

English parallel title

Those Who Serve for Another's Guilt

Synopsis

Prisoner Petr Gremin often sings his sorrowful songs to his fellow inmates in which he tells his unhappy fate. He has also received the news that his wife has died. After his release from prison his neighbour hands him back his daughter Martička. Petr has no work and he lives with the child in penury. Petr's former inmate Basil is once again organising a robbery with his gang and he selects the industrialist Kroll as the victim. Petr cannot feed Martička so he takes her to Kroll's villa, leaves her outside and watches them take her in. By chance, Petr gets the chance to sing in a restaurant where the cabaret director, Adler, has heard him perform and offers him an engagement. Petr meets Helena, Kroll's housekeeper and he tells her his life story. Years before he had fallen in love with Kroll's daughter and, despite Kroll's resistance, he married her. One day Basil got him involved in a scam and Petr was put in prison. Basil, in the meantime, is preparing to rob Kroll's villa and make it look as if Helena was responsible for the crime. The little Martička reveals the real robber in court and Kroll forgives Petr.

Cast

Petr Dmitrijevič Roščin

dobrodruh Basil

A. Vondrákova

Basilova žena

T. Karpov

Robert Kroll

Anna Brabcová-Vaicová

Jiřina, žena Roberta Krolla

Max Körner

průmyslník Kroll, Robertův strýc

Vlastička Veselá

Martička, Greminova dcera

Nelly Kovalevská

Helena Jerynová

N. Timaševa

Jiřinina matka

L. H. Struna

sluha v Krollově vile

Jaromír Cikánek

předseda senátu

Crew and creators

Screenstory

Lev N. Urvancov

Director of Photography

Josef Brabec

Production Designer

Vilém Rittershain

Production info

Original Title

Písně vězněného

Czech Title

Písně vězněného

English Title

The Songs of the Imprisoned

Parallel Title

Pro cizí vinu

English Parallel Title

Those Who Serve for Another's Guilt

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

melodrama

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1926

Production Year

1926

Production specifications

date of censorship 20 December 1926

Premiere

premiere 1 July 1927 (kino Lido bio, Praha)

Production

Favoritfilm

Copyright Holders

Národní filmový archiv

Laboratories

Favoritfilm

Distribution

Svetofilm

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

82 min

Original length in metres

2 344 meters

Distribution carrier

35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,33

Colour

black & white

Sound

silent

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

without dialogue

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Intertitles languages

Czech

Opening/End credits languages

Czech