Mr Tau and Cold!

Country

Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany, Austria

Copyright

1969

Production year

1969

Premiere

30 April 1971

Runtime

37 min

Category

film

Genre

children

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionmedium

Original title

Pan Tau a samá voda

Czech title

Pan Tau a samá voda

English title

Mr Tau and Cold!

Co-production title

Pan Tau und lauter Wasser / Pan Tau und lauter Wasser

Working title

Pan Tau na vodě / Pan Tau I

Synopsis

Five-year old Kája likes to play most anywhere where water is. And just as his mother dresses him into clean clothes, he is already dirty and his mum has to wash all the time. One day, mummy punishes Kája for his mischiefs and the boy thus decides to run away from home - he takes advantage of mother's momentary distraction and there he is, gone. But it soon begins to rain and the boy hides in the booth by the rafting-yard. There, he discovers Mr Tau, drenched with rain, who has the ability to change into a small man and vice versa with a help of a magic bowler hat. Besides that, he can do a lot of other magic. He wants to help Kája, but his bowler shrank in the rain and lost its effect. He sets off with the boy to take him home, but Kája does not know the address and, moreover, all houses in the housing quarters look the same. In the docks, they board the Nautilus steamboat and go for a trip. The captain of the steamboat calls for the police, which pursues them. But Mr Tau swirls his bowler, which has begun working and can do magic again. The steamboat disappears in the waves, transforms into a sailing boat and sails through the city, landing right under the windows of the flat where little Kája lives.

Note

The film was distributed to Czech cinemas as part of the series Mr Tau Goes to School along with the feature film of the same title and the cartoon film Puzzle (1970; directed by Zdeněk Seydl and Ludvík Kadleček).

The first (I.) series of thirteen medium-length films about Mr Tau was created in the years 1969–1972. It was first launched in cinemas, in series composed of two parts and accompanied by a cartoon movie (1. Mr Tau Arrives, 2. Mr Tau Gives Presents, 3. Mr Tau at the Mountains, 4. Mr Tau and Sunday, 5. Mr Tau Goes to School, 6. Mr Tau and Cold!, 7. Mr Tau and Claudia, 8. Mr Tau Will Handle It, 9. Mr Tau and Trip around the World, 10. Mr Tau in Circus, 11. Mr Tau and the Taxi Driver, 12. Mr Tau Wanted, 13. Mr Tau and a Thousand Miracles). In the Czechoslovak Television, the series was first introduced in December 1972. Due to its success, another thirteen parts (II.) were filmed in 1973–1975, this time intended exclusively for television (1. Mr Tau Returns, 2. Mr Tau and Robinson, 3. Mr Tau and Too Big Balloon, 4. Mr Tau and Dog Goaty-Dog, 5. Mr Tau and Family Celebration, 6. Mr Tau Goes to Work, 7. Mr Tau and Five Pears and Three Apples, 8. Mr Tau and Black Umbrella, 9. Mr Tau and Big Dog, 10. Mr Tau and Tree-Frog. 11. Mr Tau and Alladin Lamp, 12. Mr Tau and Golden Suitcase, 13. Mr Tau Leaves). The third (III.) and last (seven-part) series was filmed in the years 1977 and 1978 (1. Alert in the Sky, 2. Elephant Hunt, 3. Night at Safari, 4. Mr Tau and Woman-Magician, 5. Mr Tau at Pioneer Camp, 6. Mr Tau – And Which Is the Right One?, 7. No Magic from Tomorrow). On TV, the third series was introduced as a series in the original form and was edited for the film distribution into two feature films Alert in the Sky and No Magic from Tomorrow. The popular bowlered hero last appeared in the feature film Mr Tau, created by a German-Czechoslovak co-production in 1988.

Cast

Jaromír Kozák

Kája

Bedřich Šetena

tatínek Karel

Beda Lak

kapitán parníku Nautilus

Ivo Niederle

velitel policistů

Stanislav Hájek

dopravní strážník

David Schneider

chlapec námořník

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Vladimír Zelenka

Assistant Director

Marta Křesinová, Vilém Kijonka

Continuity

Pavla Marková

Director of Photography

Jaroslav Tuzar, Vladimír Malík (loutková část)

Second Unit Photography

Miloš Petrolín

Camera Operator

Jiří Knotek

Production Designer

Jiří Hlupý, Miroslav Hrachovec

Art Director

Stanislava Procházková (loutková část)

Set Designer

Jan Petrů, Václav Pošta, Augustin Valko

Costume Designer

Jan Kropáček

Sound Designer

Jaromír Svoboda

Production Manager

Gustav Rohan

Unit Production Manager

Martin Baroch, Jan Syrový, Karel Prchal

Unit Production Manager

Lucie Hertlová

Cooperation

Zorka Chrastinová (klapka)

Music

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín), Orchestr Karla Vlacha (Music Conducted by Karel Vlach)

Choreographer

Bedřich Füsseger

Production info

Original Title

Pan Tau a samá voda

Czech Title

Pan Tau a samá voda

English Title

Mr Tau and Cold!

Co-production Title

Pan Tau und lauter Wasser / Pan Tau und lauter Wasser

Working Title

Pan Tau na vodě / Pan Tau I

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

children

Origin country

Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany, Austria

Copyright

1969

Production Year

1969

Production specifications

start of filming 1 April 1969
projection approval 29 December 1969
the first film copy approved 29 December 1969
end of filming 30 December 1969
withdrawal from distribution 30 June 1995

Premiere

premiere 30 April 1971 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
premiere 28 October 1971 /suitable for youths/ (kino Tatra, Praha)
renewed premiere 1 March 1988 /suitable for youths/

Copyright Holders

Česká televize

Studio

Barrandov

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů (původní 1971 a obnovená 1988)

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Švabík – Hofman, Ota Hofman (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Erich Švabík (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

medium length film

Duration in minutes

37 min

Original length in metres

1 045 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

Awards

Vítěz

Exhibition: 22. přehlídka filmů pro děti a mládež Benátky

1970
Benátky / Italy