Mr Tau Arrives

Country

Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany, Austria

Copyright

1970

Production year

1970

Premiere

19 March 1971

Runtime

26 min

Category

film

Genre

children

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionshort

Original title

Pan Tau přichází

Czech title

Pan Tau přichází

English title

Mr Tau Arrives

Co-production title

Pan Tau tritt auf / Pan Tau tritt auf

Working title

Pan Tau II

Synopsis

The slim gentleman with a smile on his face, dressed in a cutaway with a flower in his lapel and wearing a bowler on his head, flies in a red rocket marked Tau-01 through the infinite universe. The cry of a child attracts him to the Earth. Upon his landing on a children's playground in Prague, he finds a little girl who has received a new sledge but cannot enjoy it since most of the snow has already melted. With the help of his magic bowler, Mr Tau makes a pile of the remaining snow and in it, a tunnel into which he invites both the girl and the other children from the neighbourhood. Arriving at the end of the tunnel, the children find themselves in mountains covered with snow, where everybody can enjoy sledge-riding lavishly. At the end of the day, the children return home through the same tunnel and with them runs also a snuggling dog who found a glove the boy Emil lost. Mr Tau, out of curiosity, visits the dog beauty salon with the snuggling dog and yet another one who had joined them on the way. There, however, the new visitors cause great confusion. The alarm brings over a man from the animal prison who takes the two dogs away. But Mr Tau jumps on the footboard of his car and after confusing the guard, he frees not only the new prisoners but also all the other animals. The mongrel is put by Mr Tau on the balcony of the flat where little Emil lives with his parents, grandfather and sister.

Note

The film was distributed to Czech cinemas as part of the series Mr Tau Arrives along with the feature film Mr Tau Gives Presents and a cartoon puppet film What Blew Up? (1970; directed by Břetislav Pojar and Miroslav Štěpánek).

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

Josef Beyvl

dědeček

Blanka Krátká

Renáta, Emilova sestra

František Filipovský

vedoucí salonu pro psy

Lubomír Lipský

muž chytající psy

Jan Vyčítal (2)

vlasatý kluk

Vladimír Horka

kluk

Josef Vytasil

kluk-cvalík

Dagmar Jelínková

holka s mašlí

Jana Skřivánková

holčička

Jana Čižinská

tanečnice-zaměstnankyně salonu

Marta Fialová

tanečnice-zaměstnankyně salonu

Elena Lindauerová

tanečnice-zaměstnankyně salonu

Dana Sikorová

tanečnice-zaměstnankyně salonu

Bobina Staňková

tanečnice-zaměstnankyně salonu

Táňa Zavřelová

tanečnice-zaměstnankyně salonu

Karel Klement

tanečník-krejčí

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Vladimír Zelenka

Assistant Director

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

Stanislav Látal (loutková část)

Set Designer

Václav Pošta, Jan Petrů, Jiří Žůček

Costume Designer

Jan Kropáček

Assistant Film Editor

Růžena Hejsková

Sound Designer

Jaromír Svoboda

Production Manager

Gustav Rohan

Unit Production Manager

Martin Baroch, Karel Prchal, Jan Syrový

Unit Production Manager

Lucie Hertlová

Cooperation

Zorka Chrastinová (klapka)

Music

Selected Music

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Figarova svatba)

Music Performed by

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

Songs

Milí páni zákazníci

Singer František Filipovskýsbor

Production info

Original Title

Pan Tau přichází

Czech Title

Pan Tau přichází

English Title

Mr Tau Arrives

Co-production Title

Pan Tau tritt auf / Pan Tau tritt auf

Working Title

Pan Tau II

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

children

Origin country

Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany, Austria

Copyright

1970

Production Year

1970

Production specifications

technical Screenplay approved 11 February 1969
start of filming 3 January 1970
end of filming 3 July 1970
the first film copy approved 29 October 1970
projection approval 7 December 1970
withdrawal from distribution 31 March 1982
withdrawal from distribution 07/1989
withdrawal from distribution 1992

Premiere

premiere 19 March 1971 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
premiere 25 March 1971 /suitable for youths/ (kino Hvězda, Praha)
renewed premiere 1 July 1989 /suitable for youths/
renewed premiere 1 September 1990 /suitable for youths/

Copyright Holders

Česká televize

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů (původní 1971 a obnovená 1989 a 1990)

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Švabík – Hofman (příprava), Ota Hofman (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny a vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny), Erich Švabík (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny a vedoucí výrobní skupiny), Dramaturgická skupina Oty Hofmana, Výrobní skupina Ericha Švabíka

Technical info

Duration typology

short film

Duration in minutes

26 min

Original length in metres

741 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