Sign of the Cancer
Country
CzechoslovakiaCopyright
1966Production year
1966Premiere
5 May 1967Runtime
87 minDirector
Juraj HerzCategory
filmGenre
drama, crime, psychologicalTypology
featuretheatrical distributionlongOriginal title
Znamení RakaCzech title
Znamení RakaEnglish title
Sign of the CancerSummary
In his first feature film, Juraj Herz established himself as an original auteur with a flair for refined style. In accord with Hana Bělohradská’s novel Poslední večeře (The Last Supper), he created a dark atmosphere filled with suspicion and despair around a criminal plot. Znamení Raka (1966) is set in the hospital where the crime will take place. In a consulting room, somebody will murder Dr. Hahn – and due to the physician’s reputation as a womaniser, the list of suspects grows… Herz filled the unusual setting with bizarre figures, among whom shines the character of the terminally ill Prokopa, as embodied by Iva Janžurová. Znamení Raka (Sign of the Cancer) faced a series of problems, as Herz was forced to change the post-synchronisation and to omit a series of sexually explicit scenes. Real-life physicians, outraged by the unqualified communist physician character (Ilja Prachř), also protested against the film.
Synopsis
The chief surgeon's round in a hospital begins in a men's hospital room where the most serious patients are Mr Kodýtek and old sclerotic Zima. In the women's room, it is twenty-two-year old Prokopa, suffering from lung cancer. Doctor Marie Nováková has an unpleasant discussion with her long-time friend, Doctor Hahn, who cheats upon her with young and pretty nurse Jiřina. After the quarrel, Hahn leaves for the inspection room and soon afterwards is found dead with a fountain pen lying next to his dead body. The criminologists come to the hospital. In the course of the investigation, the number of suspects gradually rises: Marie, Jiřina, Doctor Hošková, Zima, the Professor; each of them lied a little during the examination and each of them thus might be the murderer. During the night shift, Marie invites Prokopa to the inspection room for coffee. Prokopa is scared of death and Marie tries to encourage her with a merciful lie. Leafing through the clinical picture, she discovers an unfinished sentence written by Hahn's hand in ink. She immediately grasps that it was Prokopa who murdered the physician. At night, the unhappy, fatally ill patient commits suicide. The next morning, life in the hospital returns to the old track.
Film online
Photos
Cast
Zora Božinová
Voice by Alena Kreuzmannová
MUDr. Marie Nováková
Zdeněk Štěpánek
profesor
Ilja Prachař
Voice by Jiří Pleskot
docent
Lubomír Černík
Voice by Jiří Sovák
MUDr. Karel Petera
Josef Chvalina
MUDr. Diviš
Karla Chadimová
Voice by Eva Klepáčová
MUDr. Heleny Hošková
Josef Langmiler
asistent MUDr. Hahn
Eva Bezděková
Rychtaříková
Eduard Kohout
astrolog Hejna
Jan Vlček
Voice by Ota Motyčka
sklerotik Josef Zima
Ivo Gübel
pacient Fabián
Iva Janžurová
pacientka Prokopa Vlčková
Míla Myslíková
pacientka Zemková
Lída Vostrčilová
pacientka Lisá
Alena Kreuzmannová
pacientka Svitáková
Věra Vlčková
Voice by Milena Dvorská
zdravotní sestra Jiřina Kotová
Libuše Havelková
staniční zdravotní sestra Božena
Věra Tichánková
sekretářka Loulová
Pavel Landovský
zřízenec Hyneček Háša
Václav Lohniský
vyšetřovatel SNB
Stanislav Zindulka
vyšetřovatel SNB
Zuzana Kočová
Zuzana, profesorova žena
František Peterka
Vlček, muž Prokopy
Václav Halama
trafikant
Vladimír Hlavatý
pacient Hošek, otec Heleny
Ema Skálová
vrchní zdravotní sestra
Zuzana Dubská
zdravotní sestra Sylva
Helena Růžičková
zdravotní sestra Anna
Eva Šedivcová
zdravotní sestra Eva
Růžena Vlčková
Voice by Eva Svobodová
pacientka Rybičková
Richard Lederer
Řezáč
Jindřich Blažíček
Horák
Blanka Beránková
pacientka
Marta Kosinová
pacientka
Marie Nedvědová
pacientka
Marta Tvrzová
pacientka
Marie Vacková
pacientka
Blažena Vernerová
pacientka
Zdeněk Grygárek
pacient
Karel Hovorka
pacient
Karel Hruška (3)
pacient
Zdeněk Mošnička
pacient
Rudolf Veselý
pacient
Oldřich Lepšík
Kodýtek
Eliška Konopisková
Kodýtková
Daniela Koutná
Věra
Jaromíra Krásná
medička
Jindra Marešová
medička
Miloš Choutka
medik
Petr Křiváček
medik
Jan Řeřicha
medik
L. Kratochvíl
medik
Eva Dubovská
lékařka
Václav Kácovský
strážmistr VB
Dimitrij Turčaninov
příslušník VB
Rudolf Žofka
civilní příslušník SNB
Miloslav Svoboda
vrátný
Jana Šircová
zdravotní sestra Diana
Vladimír Tvrz
sekundář
Václav Vodák
sekundář
Jan Diviš
asistent
Miroslav Nýdl
asistent
Saša Grossová
asistentka
Luďa Marešová
asistentka
Radomír Hubáček
mladík
Crew and creators
Director
Second Unit Director
Assistant Director
Miloslav Čech, Zdena Pavlátová
Based on
Hana Bělohradská (Poslední večeře – román)
Screenplay
Shooting Script
Dramaturg
Director of Photography
Second Unit Photography
Camera Operator
Vladimír Zajíc
Production Designer
Assistent Production Designer
Set Designer
Bedřich Čermák, František Straka, Rudolf Žofka
Costume Designer
Costumes
Make-Up Artist
Film Editor
Assistant Film Editor
Sound Designer
Production Manager
Unit Production Manager
Eva Hrubá, Jaromír Lukáš
Unit Production Manager
Jordan Balurov
Consultant
F. J. Müller, MUDr. Miroslav Plzák, mjr. Jaroslav Šturma
Cooperation
Jitka Přibylová (klapka), Zdeněk Tmej (fotograf)
Music
Music Composed by
Music Performed by
FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)
Songs
Bum, bum, bum
Song Composer Ladislav Štaidl
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Štaidl
Singer Karel Gott
Production info
Original Title
Znamení Raka
Czech Title
Znamení Raka
English Title
Sign of the Cancer
Category
film
Typology
featuretheatrical distribution
Genre
drama, crime, psychological
Origin country
Czechoslovakia
Copyright
1966
Production Year
1966
Production specifications
literary Screenplay approved 15 April 1966
start of filming 1 July 1966
technical Screenplay approved 12 July 1966
end of filming 7 November 1966
projection approval 21 January 1967
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1991
Premiere
premiere 26 April 1967 /unsuitable for youths/ (kina Praha /½ týdne/, Metro /3 týdny od 12. 5./ a Pasáž /3 týdny od 12. 5./, Praha)
premiere 5 May 1967 /unsuitable for youths/ (celostátní)
Production
Copyright Holders
Studio
Distribution
Creative Group
Tvůrčí skupina Šmída – Fikar, Ladislav Fikar (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Bohumil Šmída (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)
Technical info
Duration typology
feature film
Duration in minutes
87 min
Original length in metres
2 460 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
