We Three and the Dog from Fivedogs

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1971

Production year

1971

Premiere

4 August 1972

Runtime

70 min

Director

Ota Koval

Category

film

Genre

children

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

My tři a pes z Pětipes

Czech title

My tři a pes z Pětipes

English title

We Three and the Dog from Fivedogs

Summary

Psychological motion pictures with very young actors assigned as the heroes were the forte of director Ota Koval. Two of his films explore issues surrounding the solidarity to be found in a children's gang. The movies in question are the World War I-era family film set in Pilsen, Družina Černého pera (The Black Feather Group, 1973), and My tři a pes z Pětipes (We Three and the Dog from Fivedogs), an adaptation of Václav Čtvrtek’s book from 1971. This holiday picture, also released in 1971, follows the adventures of Tonda, a boy from Prague. He makes friends with local children in Pětipsy (which translates as “Fivedogs”) while staying with acquaintances, and also becomes close with classmate Ruda, whom everybody thinks of as something of a bighead. Together the little heroes attempt some night fishing aimed at catching a local legend – a giant eel that always proves elusive. Jiří Kúkol and Robert Krásný are terrific as Tonda and Ruda, respectively. Director Koval also gave one of the smaller roles to Viktorie Čermáková, the girl that plays the title role in his 1970 debut Lucie a zázraky (Lucy and Miracles). She also appears in The Black Feather Group.

Synopsis

The summer holidays are approaching and the children are bragging about all the exciting places they are going to visit during the long-awaited two months of summer. Only Tonda is not looking forward to staying in Prague over the holidays. He brightens up after his father announces that the boy can visit some friends of the family in the village of Pětipsy. His joy is unalloyed even after his school friend Ruda ridicules the village of Pětipsy, saying it will be a boring little place. As soon as Tonda arrives at the home of the Ludvík family, he runs off to the river and soon tries his luck at fishing. He is surprised to see Ruda on the other bank. When he sets off after him, he is surrounded by a group of village boys. They think that Ruda, whom they dislike for his showing off, is Tonda's friend. But finally they accept Tonda as one of the gang. Tonda is beginning to fall for Anča. To win her over, he decides to catch the big eel that apparently lives in the river. The boys are delighted at his idea and they all want to help. But his only catch is a car tyre with "I've moved out. Eel" written on it. The children suspect that Ruda is behind the stunt. Tonda refuses to give up his idea and heads off hunting at night. He meets Ruda on the river and the two boys go looking for the eel together. The hunt is another failure. They try again in the morning. When the eel approaches, the other children come running to help and they all battle with the eel, together with Ruda. The eel escapes again. But the children are no longer disappointed; they will try it again the next time. They also make it up with Ruda, who has proved he too can be a good friend.

Film online

Cast

Jiří Kúkol

Tonda Houdek

Robert Krásný

Ruda Drábek

Jana Petrusová

Anča

Jindřich Matys

Lojza

Václav Postránecký

Houdek, Tondův otec

Jana Andresíková

Houdková, Tondova matka

Antonín Kasper

Standa

Václav Halama

Voice by Mirko Musil
železničář

Josef Paclt

Franta

Jakub Kučera

kluk

Martin Mařan

kluk

Zdeněk Matuš

kluk

Roman Tkačuk

kluk

Daniel Bagín

kluk

Václav Toupal

kluk

Crew and creators

Director

Ota Koval

Second Unit Director

Jaromír Dvořáček

Assistant Director

Žofie Futerová, Ivan Frič

Continuity

Irena Klausová

Based on

Václav Čtvrtek (My tři a pes z Pětipes – kniha)

Shooting Script

Ota Koval

Director of Photography

Jan Novák

Second Unit Photography

Ivan Wurm

Camera Operator

Vojtěch Kuthan

Production Designer

Jiří Hlupý

Assistent Production Designer

Marta Kaplerová

Set Designer

Jiří Žák, Jaroslav Lehman, Ladislav Rada

Costume Designer

Jan Kropáček

Film Editor

Zdeněk Stehlík

Assistant Film Editor

Miloslava Kostková

Sound Designer

Adam Kajzar

Special Effects

Trikový ateliér FSB

Production Manager

Václav Rouha

Unit Production Manager

Blažej Vráb, Zdeňka Černá

Unit Production Manager

Eva Charvátová

Cooperation

Danuše Kubátová (klapka), Ivan Minář (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Luboš Fišer

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Production info

Original Title

My tři a pes z Pětipes

Czech Title

My tři a pes z Pětipes

English Title

We Three and the Dog from Fivedogs

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

children

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1971

Production Year

1971

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 22 February 1971
technical Screenplay approved 6 July 1971
start of filming 20 July 1971
end of filming 11 October 1971
projection approval 17 December 1971
the first film copy approved 14 January 1972
withdrawal from distribution 31 October 1990

Premiere

premiere 3 August 1972 /suitable for youths/ (kino Tatra /1 týden/, Praha)
premiere 4 August 1972 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Oty Hofmana, Ota Hofman (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny), Výrobní skupina Ericha Švabíka, Erich Švabík (vedoucí výrobní skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

70 min

Original length in metres

1 936 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,66

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Awards

Vítěz

Festival: 12. festival filmů pro děti a mládež s mezinárodní účastí Gottwaldov

1972
Zlín / Czechoslovakia
Jiří Kúkol