The Dynamite Watcher
Country
CzechoslovakiaCopyright
1960Production year
1960Premiere
4 October 1963Runtime
23 minDirector
Zdenek SirovýCategory
filmGenre
dramaTypology
featuretheatrical distributionstudent filmshortOriginal title
Hlídač dynamituCzech title
Hlídač dynamituEnglish title
The Dynamite WatcherSynopsis
It's 1944. People can hardly wait for the war to end. The activity of the partisans inspires several workers from the stone quarry. The explosives manager Martínek makes an agreement with the old warehouse man Milec who starts taking dynamite cartridges out of the warehouse. They agree that he will always leave the package in the shed and the young worker Lojza will come to pick it up in the evening. To make an alibi, Milec goes to the pub which he hasn't visited for years, followed by his wife's secretive smile. The explosions on the railway line make the Germans start checking the warehouses. However, Milec's stock is in order. During one of the actions, Lojza and Martínek forget a dynamite wrapping on the spot. Now the German soldiers go straight to the place. Lojza is shot dead during his escape from the quarry. Milec's wife admits to her husband that she knew about everything, and tries to take the package out of their home in a cauldron with dirty clothes. The soldiers come to their house with an officer. In this hopeless situation, Milec's wife knowingly puts the cauldron onto the burning stove and she and her husband die together with the Nazis in the explosion.
Note
This film was distributed together with two other adaptations of Drda´s stories from the production of FAMU (Film and Television Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts) Hatred and Footsteps, under the common title The Dynamite Watcher.
Photos
Cast
Eman Fiala
skladník František Milec
Eva Svobodová
Běta, Milcova žena
L. H. Struna
střelmistr Martínek
Ladislav Kazda
dělník Lojza
Ladislav Mrkvička
dělník Jarda
Zdeněk Kutil
Blaschke
Jaroslav Raušer
komisař Glaser
Jaroslav Moučka
hráč karet
Oldřich Šembera
hráč karet
Václav Trégl
kibic
Josef Steigl
kontrolor
Olaf Petřina
gestapák
Aleš Pivoňka
gestapák
Jarmila Smékalová
hostinská
Ladislav Válek
řidič
Crew and creators
Director
Based on
Jan Drda (Hlídač dynamitu – povídka ze sbírky Němá barikáda)
Screenplay
Director of Photography
Production Designer
Make-Up Artist
Film Editor
Sound Designer
Pedagogical management
František Daniel (dramaturgie), Miroslav Hubáček (režie), Václav Hanuš (kamera)
Cooperation
Karel Holek (fotograf)
Music
Music Composed by
Production info
Original Title
Hlídač dynamitu
Czech Title
Hlídač dynamitu
English Title
The Dynamite Watcher
Category
film
Typology
featuretheatrical distributionstudent film
Genre
drama
Student film
Origin country
Czechoslovakia
Copyright
1960
Production Year
1960
Production specifications
projection approval 12 February 1963
withdrawal from distribution 31 August 1976
Premiere
premiere 27 September 1963 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
premiere 4 October 1963 /suitable for youths/ (kino Lucerna /1 týden/, Praha)
Production
Copyright Holders
Distribution
Technical info
Duration typology
short film
Duration in minutes
23 min
Original length in metres
650 meters
Distribution carrier
16mm, 35mm
Aspect ratio
1:1,37
Colour
black & white
Sound
sound
Sound system/format
mono
Versions
Czech
Dialogue languages
Czech
Subtitles languages
without subtitles
Opening/End credits languages
Czech
Awards
Vítěz
Festival: 5. mezinárodní festival dokumentárních a experimentálních filmů Montevideo
1962
Montevideo / Uruguay
Vítěz
Festival: 3. festival českých a slovenských filmů Ostrava
1961
Ostrava / Czechoslovakia
