I Know You Are a Murderer...

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1971

Production year

1971

Premiere

21 January 1972

Runtime

98 min

Category

film

Genre

crime

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Vím, že jsi vrah...

Czech title

Vím, že jsi vrah...

English title

I Know You Are a Murderer...

Working title

První případ

Summary

For audiences, Petr Schulhoff became a much-loved director of detective stories via a number of crime dramas featuring the character of Major Kalaš. But this film, which relates the tale of a series of crimes committed by the disturbed character Pavel Zach, is actually a case for famous detective Major Zeman, as played by Eduard Cupák. Assisted by his experienced colleague Suchánek, played by Jaroslav Moučka, the crime investigator fails to conceal his sympathies for the charming but flighty Olga, commandingly played by Marie Málková. But Olga is entangled in the case more than Zeman originally thought. Adapted from the novel Skrze koho podezření (Through Whose Suspicions...) written by actor-writer Alexej Gsöllhofer, Vím, že jsi vrah… (I Know You Are a Murderer..., 1971) is a rare example of an early 1970s film that managed to remain uncontaminated by “normalisation” ideology. However, in the ensuing years, Schulhoff would focus on less challenging comedy projects.

Synopsis

Dana Martinová, a young woman of slightly loose morals, dies in her flat. By a violent blow on the head, she was killed by a psychologically unstable young man, Pavel Zach. Dana's friend, Eva Simonová, tings the bell in vain, but hears the radio playing in Dana's flat, so she calls the police. Shaken by the murder, she drops and slightly damages the telephone, which she uses in Olga's, her sister's flat, to call their relative, Pavel's father and arranges a meeting with him. After divorce Zach, the father, did not really care about his adolescent son and after his mother's death they could not build a closer relationship with each other. He is shocked by Pavel's affair with Dana. Pavel's housekeeper gives him the telephone, which Eva supposedly used to call him and tells him that she knows that he is a murderer. Pavel gets into Eva's flat and drowns her in a bathtub. Eva's husband has an alibi, he has just returned from abroad. A young detective, Zeman, questions Olga, whom he obviously likes. Despite a great help of an experienced detective, Suchánek, the investigation is stagnating. Zeman asks Pavel about his phone call with Eva, which the housekeeper mentioned and involuntarily reveals that it could not have been her call. Pavel gets into Olga's flat and the half damaged phone gives him the information about where the call was made from. In rage and revenge, Pavel strangles Olga's schoolmate. Zach, the father, wants to hide his mentally ill son at a psychiatric clinic. The frightened Olga, who is temporarily hiding in Zeman's flat, feels relieved when she hears about Pavel's arrest. Zeman makes a final call to Olga's flat to call of the colleague on guard. He freezes, when he realizes that it was Olga, who called Pavel in Eva's name. She willingly set him against his sister, because for some time she had been the lover of her sister's husband - the attractive doctor Simon. She also indirectly caused the death of her schoolmate. Olga is also arrested.

Film online

Cast

Eduard Cupák

kriminalista poručík Zeman

Jaroslav Moučka

kriminalista podporučík Suchánek

Marie Málková

Olga Vanková

Alena Vránová

Eva Simonová, Olžina sestra

Radoslav Brzobohatý

MUDr. Simon, Evin manžel

Ota Sklenčka

vedoucí propagace Jindřich Zach

Jiří Adamec

Pavel, Zachův syn

Jan Přeučil

fotograf Saša Rykl

Zdeněk Ornest

inženýr Grossman

Miloš Willig

Voice by Oldřich Velen
psychiatr

Věra Tichánková

hospodyně Mařenka

Stanislava Bartošová

Olžina spolužačka

Marta Richterová

Zachova sekretářka

Gustav Vondráček

podpraporčík VB

Jan Pohan

kriminalista

Jan Víšek

lékař VB

Ivo Hrdina

technik VB

Josef Koza

technik VB

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Vladimír Zelenka

Assistant Director

Ivana Tokošová

Continuity

Eva Kolářová

Screenstory

Petr Schulhoff

Based on

Alexej Gsöllhofer (Skrze koho pohoršení... – rukopis románu)

Screenplay

Petr Schulhoff

Shooting Script

Petr Schulhoff

Dramaturg

Marek Stašek

Director of Photography

Jiří Vojta

Second Unit Photography

Pavel Dosoudil

Camera Operator

Vladimír Smutný

Production Designer

Jindřich Goetz

Assistent Production Designer

Jan Sedláček

Set Designer

Miroslav Balajka, Ivan Ernyei, Jiří Forst

Costume Designer

Theodor Pištěk ml.

Film Editor

Jan Chaloupek

Assistant Film Editor

Alena Havlíčková

Sound Designer

František Fabián

Production Manager

Jiří Krejčí

Unit Production Manager

Vlasta Mathauserová, Josef Mojžíš, Věra Winkelhöferová

Consultant

mjr. Karel Pilař , MUDr. Miroslav Plzák

Cooperation

Olga Hrčková (klapka), Miloš Schmiedberger (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Pavel Blatný

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)

Production info

Original Title

Vím, že jsi vrah...

Czech Title

Vím, že jsi vrah...

English Title

I Know You Are a Murderer...

Working Title

První případ

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

crime

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1971

Production Year

1971

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 14 December 1970
technical Screenplay approved 7 April 1971
start of filming 16 April 1971
end of filming 18 June 1971
the first film copy approved 24 September 1971
projection approval 18 October 1971
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1986

Premiere

premiere 20 January 1972 /unsuitable for youths/ (kino Jalta, Praha)
premiere 21 January 1972 /unsuitable for youths/ (celostátní)

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Karla Copa, Karel Cop (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny), Výrobní skupina Ladislava Novotného, Ladislav Novotný (vedoucí výrobní skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

98 min

Original length in metres

2 770 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,66

Colour

black & white

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech