The Evidence Given by Dead Eyes

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1971

Production year

1971

Premiere

10 December 1971

Runtime

86 min

Director

Otakar Fuka

Category

film

Genre

drama, crime

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Svědectví mrtvých očí

Czech title

Svědectví mrtvých očí

English title

The Evidence Given by Dead Eyes

Working title

Past na myš

Summary

This feature-film debut from director Otakar Fuka represents the start of his career-long interest in crime genre films. Fuka would later return to this sphere with Zlaté rybky (The Gold Fish, 1977), Příliš velká šance (Too Big a Chance, 1984) and Černá punčocha (Black Stocking, 1986). The protagonist of this adaptation of the novel Pozlacené mříže (Gilded Bars) by Jiří Brabenec and Zdeňek Veselý is retired police detective Gaudl. He has justified suspicions that the death of his niece Hedvika was not down to an unhappy accident, but the result of a premeditated murder carried out by husband Jiří. Also on the trail of Jiří is his young lover Daniela... The film climbs above your average fare mainly thanks to a strong cast. Gaudl is portrayed by Vladimír Šmeral, while the part of the accused husband goes to Jiří Adamíra. Slávka Budínová plays tragic wife Hedvika.

Synopsis

Retired criminal investigator Gaudl does not like the husband of his niece Hedvika, a good-looking, but already ageing editor. He suspects that, seventeen years ago, the elegant employee of a foreign trade corporation and university professor Jiří Horáček married Hedvika for her considerable wealth. There seems to be no problem in their childless marriage, but Horáček has a mistress, who even lives in their villa. It is Daniela, the young relative of the Horáčeks' housekeeper, for whom the housekeeper has arranged lodging at the villa. When the girl gets pregnant, Jiří decides to divorce his wife. In Hedvika's car on the way back from a party at the director's cottage, the couple quarrel and run over a hitch-hiker standing by the road. Secretly, Hedvika takes photographs of Jiří dragging the girl's dead body into a ditch beside the road. Horáček tries to produce an alibi for himself and returns back to the cottage in his car. But Hedvika shows him the photographs and he realizes she has him cornered. He sets a trap for her - and she gets killed by a faulty light bulb in the bathroom after he leaves for work. At her funeral, Gaudl meets graphic designer Březina. Annoyed by her husband, Hedvika spent the last night before her death with Březina and, having got drunk, told him everything about the car accident. In the meantime, Daniela finds the negative and the photographs hidden away in the frame of Hedvika's portrait. She realizes that Jiří has killed his wife and runs away from him, hiding in her room. Then she opens the telephone directory. But the old Gaudl, standing in front of the villa, already knows how to convict Jiří.

Film online

Cast

Jiří Adamíra

profesor Jiří Horáček

Slávka Budínová

redaktorka Hedvika, Horáčkova manželka

Danuše Klichová

Daniela Táborská

Vladimír Šmeral

kriminalista v. v. Václav Gaudl

Josef Bek

ředitel Metaloexportu Jan Berdych

Drahoslava Landsmanová

Marta, Berdychova manželka

Valerie Kaplanová

sousedka Skuhrovcová, Danielina teta

Ladislav Mrkvička

Voice by Jan Faltýnek
grafik Luděk Březina

Karel Urbánek

kriminalista nadporučík Šabata

Ladislav Kazda

kriminalista poručík Dřevíkovský

Oldřich Hoblík

JUDr. Zámyslický

Josef Chvalina

redaktor František, kolega Horáčkové

Lubor Tokoš

podplukovník Antonín Máca

Jana Andresíková

sekretářka Eva

Consuela Morávková

výtvarnice v redakci

Zdena Dančíková

Voice by Edita Dindělová
Zdenička, vnučka Zámyslického

Ludvík Pozník

švédský obchodník Anderson

Vlastimil Čaněk

kriminalista

Jiří Cimický

expert Hejlík

Ladislav Jakim

student u zkoušek

Valerie Chmelová

Libuše Stloukalová

Jana Kasanová

Jana Pachnerová

Jiří Foltýn

inženýr Pachner

Rudolf Horák

inženýr Stloukal

Milan Stehlík

strážmistr VB ve vrátnici

Milada Ježková

závorářka Brázdilová

Vít Pešina

zapisovatel

J. Bartoš

čistič

J. Červený

taxíkář Kouba

J. Eichler

automechanik Wolf

D. Schirová

stopařka Kristýna Hejzlarová

Dubbing

Crew and creators

Director

Otakar Fuka

Second Unit Director

Milan Kadlec

Assistant Director

Josef Ryzec

Based on

Zdeněk M. Veselý (Pozlacené mříže – román), Jiří Brabenec (Pozlacené mříže – román)

Shooting Script

Otakar Fuka

Director of Photography

Josef Hanuš

Second Unit Photography

Josef Pechar

Camera Operator

Václav Zajíček

Production Designer

Karel Černý

Assistent Production Designer

Miloš Červinka

Costume Designer

Fernand Vácha

Film Editor

Antonín Zelenka

Assistant Film Editor

Eliška Willigová

Special Effects

Trikový ateliér FSB

Production Manager

Jaroslav Solnička

Unit Production Manager

František Jaderník, Milan Štěch

Unit Production Manager

Václav Polák

Cooperation

Jiří Sequens (režijní supervize), Irena Hrušková (klapka), Richard Polák (fotograf), Vladimír Souček (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Jiří Šust

Selected Music

Johann Strauss ml. (Povídky z vídeňského lesa)

Music Performed by

Orchestr Gustava Broma (Music Conducted by Gustav Brom)

Songs

Zlatá brána otevřená

Singer dětský sbor

Production info

Original Title

Svědectví mrtvých očí

Czech Title

Svědectví mrtvých očí

English Title

The Evidence Given by Dead Eyes

Working Title

Past na myš

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

drama, crime

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1971

Production Year

1971

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 7 December 1970
technical Screenplay approved 15 February 1971
start of filming 17 March 1971
end of filming 20 June 1971
the first film copy approved 10 September 1971
projection approval 6 October 1971
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1986

Premiere

premiere 25 November 1971 /unsuitable for youths/ (kino 64 U Hradeb, Praha)
premiere 10 December 1971 /unsuitable for youths/ (celostátní)

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Miloše Brože, Miloš Brož (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny), Výrobní skupina Jiřího Šebora, Jiří Šebor (vedoucí výrobní skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

86 min

Original length in metres

2 440 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,66, 1:2,35

Colour

black & white

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech