The Detour
Country
CzechoslovakiaCopyright
1968Production year
1967Premiere
5 July 1968Runtime
85 minDirector
Josef MachCategory
filmGenre
comedyTypology
featuretheatrical distributionlongOriginal title
ObjížďkaCzech title
ObjížďkaEnglish title
The DetourSummary
Josef Mach’s first film as a solo director, Nikdo nic neví (Nobody Knows Anything, 1947), was a comedy about wartime tram drivers. Nearly 20 years on, he revisited transportation as an underlying theme of sorts, in the satire Objížďka (The Detour, 1968). Thanks to ongoing repair work on a nearby motorway, traffic is diverted through the idyllic village of Květoliby pod Lípou, disturbing the quiet its residents are used to – and threatening a cherished century-old linden tree. But not everyone objects to the detour: “Tourism traffic” is a boon for the village publican and for local women – they experience a dramatic rise in their chances of meeting men and start to dress to impress. This forgotten film has a stellar cast, with Jiří Sovák as the village mayor, Jana Hlaváčová as a tourist agency head and Květa Fialová as a social worker.
Synopsis
Květoliby-under-Linden is a small town where everything follows an unremarkable routine. One day, however, everything changes – a busy highway is being repaired, and all the traffic is diverted via Květoliby. The inhabitants first observe the increased traffic reluctantly, especially when the cars begin to threaten the one-hundred-year old linden, but some of them gradually begin to adjust to the new situation. The income of the local pub increases and Marta, the pub's young manager, is constantly courted by drivers from abroad, to the great displeasure of her wooer, the chairman of the Municipal National Committee himself. The women begin to dress up and visit the local hairdresser Ticháček with unprecedented frequency. Even the long-single social worker Anna Floriánová falls in love with a sturdy Hungarian driver. The chairman, out of fear of losing his Marta, rather agrees to marry her. The great problem of the new situation is the precious linden which stands in the way of the cars passing through Květoliby. The tree divides the little town into two camps, but eventually falls down itself under the weight of its age. After some time, the detour is closed. It seems that peace and quiet would return to the town, but the citizens of Květoliby apparently got used to the new way of life and petition for the return of the detour.
Photos
Cast
Jiří Sovák
starosta Květolib Karel Kapr
Jana Hlaváčová
vedoucí pohostinství Marta Mocná
Josef Bek
instalatér Bedřich Vrtáň
Slávka Budínová
Růžena, Vrtáňova žena
Květa Fialová
sociální pracovnice Anna Floriánová
Vlasta Chramostová
listonoška Marie Čeplová
Lenka Fišerová
Cilka Čeplová, dcera listonošky
Milan Neděla
počišťovač Jarda Šmat
Jan Skopeček
kadeřník Jiří Ticháček
Oldřich Velen
pekař Jan Teplíček
Josef Chvalina
fotograf Houser
Jan Libíček
příslušník VB Lízal
Luba Skořepová
Anežka, Lízalova žena
Vladimír Hrubý
učitel řečí Šumichrast
Marcela Martínková
Šumichrastova žena
Zdeněk Najman
multimechanik Čačala
Edita Štaubertová
Čačalova žena
Karla Chadimová
slečna Tuhá
Jitka Cerhová
prodavačka Hana
Jitka Zelenohorská
prodavačka Dana
Milada Koubová
prodavačka Jana
Juraj Višný
Voice by Petr Haničinec
řidič Julius
Petr Mach
řidič Tomba
Lubomír Kostelka
řidič autobusu Tonda Šlapar
Jan Horáček (2)
Honza
Pavel Sedláček
Karel
Martin Štěpánek
Olda
Jiří Steimar
Němec Kubitzek
Luděk Munzar
řidič transportéru René Burda
Antonín Kramerius
řidič maďarského transportéru Géza
Petr Pelzer
Voice by Oldřich Velen
nadstrážmistr VB Máca
Zdeněk Braunschläger
řidič autobusu Buřič
Gino Hašler
cizinec Chanel
Karel Houska
řidič náklaďáku Klapka
Josef Hlinomaz
Hačala
Vlastimil Bedrna
Křupala
Josef Kotapiš
Kadraba
Karel Pavlík
Ludva
Oskar Hák
Chroust
Josef Burda
občan
Vladislav Coufal
světák s autem
Jan Diviš
Charleton
Karel Engel
dřevorubec
Jiří Kasík
dřevorubec
Jaroslav Klenot
dřevorubec
Jindřich Sejk
dřevorubec
Josef Schneider
dřevorubec
Jiří Svárovský
dřevorubec
Jan Váňa
dřevorubec
Karel Vítek
dřevorubec
Ludvík Wolf
dřevorubec
Ladislav Fallada
Kaltengraber
Lena Birková
německá turistka
Anny Freyová
německá turistka
Milada Horutová
dáma s účesem
Alexander Paul
řidič Houska
Eduard Pavlíček
světák
Jiří Reis
světák
Vladimír Pospíšil
poručík Veselý
Zdeněk Treybal
Moor
Vincenc Vávra
občan
Commentary
Crew and creators
Director
Second Unit Director
Continuity
Screenstory
Screenplay
Dramaturg
Director of Photography
Second Unit Photography
Camera Operator
Production Designer
Assistent Production Designer
Set Designer
Josef Calta, V. Koucký, Miloš Sršeň
Costume Designer
Costumes
Make-Up Artist
Oldřich Mach, František Havlíček, Libuše Beranová, Jana Bozděchová
Film Editor
Assistant Film Editor
Sound Designer
Special Effects
Production Manager
Unit Production Manager
Josef Mojžíš, Věra Winkelhöferová
Unit Production Manager
Jaroslav Vondráček
Cooperation
Věra Mayerová (klapka), Josef Vítek (fotograf)
Music
Music Composed by
Selected Music
Bedřich Smetana (sbor Proč bychom se netěšili z opery Prodaná nevěsta)
Music Performed by
FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)
Songs
Jedenkrát
Song Composer Ludvík Podéšť
Singer Lenka Fišerová [dab]Eva Pilarová
melodie pod úvodními titulky
Singer Linha Singers
Dej mi pár okovů
Song Composer Fred RoseHy Heath
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Štaidl
Singer Vlasta Chramostová
Plují lodi do Triany
Song Composer Jan F. Fischer
Writer of Lyrics Jan F. FischerOlga Fischerová
Singer Slávka Budínová
Production info
Original Title
Objížďka
Czech Title
Objížďka
English Title
The Detour
Category
film
Typology
featuretheatrical distribution
Genre
comedy
Origin country
Czechoslovakia
Copyright
1968
Production Year
1967
Production specifications
literary Screenplay approved 15 June 1967
technical Screenplay approved 3 August 1967
start of filming 24 August 1967
end of filming 1 December 1967
the first film copy approved 29 February 1968
projection approval 5 April 1968
withdrawal from distribution 31 August 1974
Premiere
premiere 20 June 1968 /unsuitable for youths/ (kino Jalta /3 týdny/, Praha)
premiere 5 July 1968 /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
85 min
Original length in metres
2 397 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
