Stick, Stick, Start Beating!

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1955

Production year

1955

Premiere

7 September 1956

Runtime

75 min

Category

film

Genre

fairytale

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Obušku, z pytle ven!

Czech title

Obušku, z pytle ven!

English title

Stick, Stick, Start Beating!

Summary

Jaromír Pleskot devoted the lion's share of his professional career to stage direction. Yet he also has a filmography. Alongside popular 1956 girls’ favourite Robinsonka (The Girl Robinson), it features his 1989 biographical work on Karel Čapek Člověk proti zkáze (Man versus Ruin) and this children’s movie adhering to what was considered ideologically sound and entertaining in the Czechoslovakia of 1955. The story’s folk hero is an honest destitute musician who strikes fortune thanks to gifts – a magical handkerchief and a gold-bearing donkey – he is given by an old man with magical powers. However, in order to ward off a thievish innkeeper, he also needs a punishing magic cudgel... Featuring in this adaptation of Kouzelné dary (Magical Gifts), a fairytale by Jaromír Erben, are Ladislav Pešek as the musician and Josef Beyvl as the innkeeper. The conjuring old man seeking social justice is effortlessly performed by the dependable František Smolík.

Synopsis

A poor musician with a horde of hungry children at home sets off into the world to look for work. He is wandering through the country until he reaches a pub where, just at that moment, they are celebrating a village fair. The musician plays to the visitors but the publican rewards him with only a piece of old bread for his performance. An elderly magician takes pity on the musician and presents him with a magical table-napkin which serves delicacies all by itself and a little donkey from which ducats are pouring. On the way home, the musician stops at the same pub and good-naturedly displays the magic gifts. But the dishonest publican exchanges them for ordinary ones. At home, the musician disappoints the entire family: the table-napkin doesn't serve any food and not even a copper coin falls out of the donkey. The poor man realizes who robbed him off the old man's gifts. He goes back with another old magician's gift - a stick. The stick gives the owner a good thrashing and the greedy man readily returns everything. On his return home, the musician makes a feast for the entire village. The old man ascends to the sky to look around and see if anybody needs his help.

Cast

Josef Beyvl

hostinský

Renata Borová

Rozárka, dítě muzikanta

Miroslav Fišák

Mikeš, dítě muzikanta

Aleš Košnar

Kuba, dítě muzikanta

Irena Pejšková

Terinka, dítě muzikanta

Petra Pleskotová

Kristýnka, dítě muzikanta

D. Strudlová

Barunka, dítě muzikanta

Věra Motyčková

venkovské děvče

Šárka Smetanová

venkovské děvče

Eman Fiala

šumař

Věra Benšová

tančící venkovská dívka

Ladislav Švanda

kluk s prutem

František Partyngl

Bohumil Vild

S. Košař

F. Kuchař

Crew and creators

Assistant Director

Eva Mičulková, Zdeněk Maršálek, Mojmír Drvota

Based on

Karel Jaromír Erben (Kouzelné dary – pohádka)

Shooting Script

Jaromír Pleskot

Director of Photography

Josef Střecha, Jiří Tarantík

Production Designer

Alois Mecera

Set Designer

Josef Calta

Costume Designer

František Tröster

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Sound Designer

František Fabián

Special Effects

Karel Mann, Josef Bůžek, František Jakubec, Milada Veselá

Production Manager

Jaroslav Prokop

Background Painter

Ferdinand Martinásek (malíř pozadí)

Music

Music Composed by

Jan F. Fischer

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Songs

Já s písničkou jdu jako ptáček

Song Composer Jan F. Fischer
Writer of Lyrics Jan F. FischerJaromír Pleskot
Singer Ladislav Pešek

Já letím vzhůru jako ptáček

Song Composer Jan F. Fischer
Writer of Lyrics Jan F. FischerJaromír Pleskot
Singer František Smolík

Pocestný /Je to chůze po tom světě, kam se noha šine/

Writer of Lyrics František Ladislav Čelakovský
Singer Ladislav Pešek

Kde se pivo vaří

Singer sbor

Production info

Original Title

Obušku, z pytle ven!

Czech Title

Obušku, z pytle ven!

English Title

Stick, Stick, Start Beating!

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

fairytale

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1955

Production Year

1955

Production specifications

start of filming 13 February 1955
projection approval 15 May 1956
withdrawal from distribution 30 June 1995

Premiere

premiere 7 September 1956 /suitable for youths/ (kina Jalta /8 týdnů/, Mladých /3 týdny/, Bystrica /1 týden od 28. 9./, Mír /1 týden od 28. 9./, Vzlet /1 týden od 5. 10./ a Arbes /1 týden od 19. 10./, Praha)

Copyright Holders

Národní filmový archiv

Studio

Barrandov

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

75 min

Original length in metres

2 129 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