Mr Tau and a Thousand Spells

Country

Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany, Austria

Copyright

1972

Production year

1969—1971

Premiere

5 May 1972

Runtime

36 min

Category

film

Genre

children

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionmedium

Original title

Pan Tau a tisíc kouzel

Czech title

Pan Tau a tisíc kouzel

English title

Mr Tau and a Thousand Spells

Co-production title

Pan Tau ist wieder da / Pan Tau ist wieder da

Working title

Ať žijí zázraky / Pan Tau V

Synopsis

Mr Tau is imprisoned in the Lost and Found shop. The shopkeeper has realized what the bowler hat can do and has made a comfortable life for himself with it. He has modernized the shop, magicked up a luxury car, and now lives in a castle. He has even bet a great deal of money on an outsider in a horse race and made sure by magic that the horse wins. But he is still obsessed with his money; he sleeps on it and guards it with a loaded rifle. The children organize a search to save Mr Tau. A clever little dog Žerýk gets into the castle during the night and with the help of other canine friends manages to switch the magic bowler hat with an ordinary one. In the morning, the shopkeeper wakes up on a dustheap. His money and all the things he has acquired using the magic bowler have disappeared. The children free their beloved Mr Tau and joyfully take to the Prague streets with him.

Note

The story Mr Tau and Thousand Spells was distributed in cinemas in a block with two other stories: Search for Mr Tau 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

Milena Zahrynowská

Claudiina maminka

Miloš Kopecký

vousáč, vedoucí Ztrát a nálezů

Josef Vytasil

kluk-cvalík

Jan Vyčítal (2)

vlasatý kluk

Jaroslav Ševčík

pihovatý kluk

Václav Neckář

mechanik Václav

Hana Hátleová

dívka s mašlí

Jana Skřivánková

dívka

Vladimír Horka

kluk

Helena Lišková

dívka

Zdeněk Hodr

starší pán hledající klíče

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

Václav Pošta, Jan Petrů, 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

Dana Dudová, Martin Baroch, Jan Syrový

Unit Production Manager

Lucie Hertlová

Cooperation

Dagmar Ševčíková (klapka), Josef Vítek (fotograf)

Music

Music Performed by

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

Songs

Tak, a můžeme si hrát

Song Composer Jiří MalásekJiří BažantVlastimil Hála
Writer of Lyrics Ivo Fischer
Singer Václav Neckář

Já si žiju jako lord

Song Composer Jiří MalásekJiří BažantVlastimil Hála
Writer of Lyrics Ivo Fischer
Singer Miloš Kopecký

Production info

Original Title

Pan Tau a tisíc kouzel

Czech Title

Pan Tau a tisíc kouzel

English Title

Mr Tau and a Thousand Spells

Co-production Title

Pan Tau ist wieder da / Pan Tau ist wieder da

Working Title

Ať žijí zázraky / 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

medium length film

Duration in minutes

36 min

Original length in metres

1 026 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