A Search for Mr Tau

Country

Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany, Austria

Copyright

1972

Production year

1969—1971

Premiere

5 May 1972

Runtime

30 min

Category

film

Genre

children

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionshort

Original title

Hledá se pan Tau

Czech title

Hledá se pan Tau

English title

A Search for Mr Tau

Co-production title

Pan Tau wird gesucht / Pan Tau wird gesucht

Working title

Pan Tau V

Synopsis

Small Claudie lost a figurine of Mr Tau. Her grandfather offers a great reward to the finder. This information together with an amateurish Claudie's drawing spreads around the whole world. Mr Tau is searched also by Emil's bunch of children, who also like the magic little man. Claudie makes friends with the children. While they are searching together the children are brought by the smart dog Žerýk to the shop Lost and Found Property. The morose boss has the figurine, but when the children tell him that the figurine can conjure, he does not give it to them. He learns how to deal with the bowler hat and he starts conjuring. He keeps Mr Tau who grew in a human size in his warehouse. He does not know that the surrounding of the house is watched by Žerýk and other dogs.

Note

The story Search for Mr. Tau was distributed in cinemas in a block of two other stories: Mr. Tau and Thousand Spells and Mr. Tau and a Taxi Driver.

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

Jan Werich

bohatý pan Viola

Veronika Renčová

Claudie, Violova vnučka

Miloš Kopecký

vousáč, vedoucí Ztrát a nálezů

Josef Vytasil

kluk-cvalík

Jaroslav Ševčík

pihovatý kluk

Jan Vyčítal (2)

vlasatý kluk

Hana Hátleová

holka s mašlí

Jana Skřivánková

holka s kočkami

Ladislav Krečmer

vedoucí cukrárny

Helena Pelikánová

prodavačka

Zdena Dančíková

prodavačka

Vlastimil Fišar

ředitel Interpolicie

Jiří Fictum

dubl za Miloše Kopeckého

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Elmar Kloss

Assistant Director

Jiří Potsch, Robert Vacík

Continuity

Pavla Marková

Shooting Script

Jindřich Polák

Director of Photography

Jaroslav Tuzar, Vladimír Malík (loutková část)

Second Unit Photography

Miloš Petrolín

Camera Operator

Stanislav Šťastný

Production Designer

Jiří Hlupý, Miroslav Hrachovec

Art Director

Stanislav Látal (loutková část)

Set Designer

Jan Petrů, Václav Pošta, Jiří Žůček

Costume Designer

Jan Kropáček

Assistant Film Editor

Růžena Hejsková

Sound Designer

Adolf Böhm

Special Effects

Trikový ateliér FSB

Production Manager

Gustav Rohan

Unit Production Manager

Jan Syrový, Martin Baroch, Dana Dudová

Unit Production Manager

Lucie Hertlová

Cooperation

Dagmar Ševčíková (klapka), Josef Vítek (fotograf)

Music

Music Performed by

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

Songs

Zaprášený blues

Song Composer Jiří MalásekJiří BažantVlastimil Hála
Writer of Lyrics Ota Hofman
Singer Miloš Kopecký

Production info

Original Title

Hledá se pan Tau

Czech Title

Hledá se pan Tau

English Title

A Search for Mr Tau

Co-production Title

Pan Tau wird gesucht / Pan Tau wird gesucht

Working Title

Pan Tau V

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

children

Origin country

Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany, Austria

Copyright

1972

Production Year

1969—1971

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 4 March 1969
start of filming 28 July 1969
end of filming 26 September 1971
projection approval 18 February 1972
withdrawal from distribution 30 June 1995

Premiere

premiere 5 May 1972 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
premiere 11 May 1972 /suitable for youths/ (kino Hvězda, Praha)

Copyright Holders

Česká televize

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

short film

Duration in minutes

30 min

Original length in metres

842 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