The Struggle for Hedvika

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1972

Production year

1971—1972

Premiere

3 November 1972

Runtime

77 min

Category

film

Genre

drama

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Bitva o Hedviku

Czech title

Bitva o Hedviku

English title

The Struggle for Hedvika

Summary

Polish director Julian Dziedzina got the chance in 1972 to direct a political-historical drama set in the 1930s. The story zeroes in on a whirlwind of pressures brought about by the calling of a workers’ strike at the Hedvika mine in Ostrava during a time of economic crisis. The editor of a Communist newspaper, Eda Krahulík (Petr Svojtka), comes to the miners’ aid, but runs up against the arrogance of the Social Democratic trade unions. It is a clash which ends in tragedy for one worker, Toník Holas (Ivan Vyskočil). The young man, who is caring for his sick mother, gets sacked from his job and out of desperation shoots the mine foreman who had promised to protect him. The crime gives the pit’s management an excuse to suppress the rebellious miners using force. Vít Olmert, who in the 1970s rather sporadically devoted himself to acting, plays a journalist in the film.

Synopsis

In the thirties of the 20th century, in the time of the economic crisis, Eda Krahulík, an editor of the communist newspapers, comes to Ostrava to help organize a strike in the mine Hedvika. From the same train gets off also Knor, a secretary of the social democratic trade union, who is known as a man who most likely helps the owners against the workers. Eda is in Ostrava incognito and therefore he hides in a mining pub in a room of a maidservant Žofka. Before long there explains the arrival of Knor - the directorate of the mine began giving notice. It is also Toník Holas, supporting his widowed mother, who receives the notice. Toník is talented and constructed the drill sledge. At reward, the mines inspector promised to protect him from dismissal. The desperate young man now reminds him of the promise but the mining inspector denies everything. In an agitation, Toník shoots him dead with a father´s gun. The miners hide the offender in the mine. The planned strike is called off so that it cannot be associated with the murder. Krahulík secretly goes down with the miners to the pit to meet Toník and promises him help at the escape. But the operation fails and what is more, Toník's hiding place is disclosed and the mine is encircled by the gendarmes. Treacherous Knor promises the desperate young murderer help. He finds the hiding place with the help of two Toník's colleagues who do not notice that the gendarmes trace them from a distance. The gendarmes shoot dead surrendering Toník and get rid in the same way of the two undesirable witnesses, at Knor's instruction. Krahulík already got in a train from Ostrava but eventually he changed his mind, got out the train and returned to continue struggling for Hedvika and better life.

Cast

Petr Svojtka

Eda Krahulík, redaktor Dělníka

Ivan Vyskočil

horník Toník Holas

Jaroslav Moučka

tajemník sociálně demokratických odborů Knor

Josef Maršálek

Josef Urban

Luba Skořepová

Toníkova matka

Jolanta Lothe

služka Žofka

Miloš Vavruška

major četnictva

Otto Lackovič

inženýr Mareček

Vladimír Švabík

horník Fanta

Václav Kotva

horník Lorenc

Vít Olmer

novinář

Petr Skarke

horník Gargulák

L. H. Struna

prošedivělý horník

Zdena Burdová

Litošová, redaktorka Národní politiky

Karel Vochoč

účetní

Vladimír Čech

Wágner, redaktor Poledního listu

Radka Dulíková

sekretářka

Jiří Flíček

Vítek, redaktor Expresu

Karel Bělohradský

mladý hutník

Milan Klacek

Jarolím, redaktor Českého slova

Pavel Spálený

štajgr Prosek

Bedřich Šetena

průvodčí

František Olšovský

topič Franta

Antonín Soukup

děda v hospodě

Jaroslav Vágner

poručík četníků

Karel Engel

četník

Milan Kindl

četník

Alojzy Nowak

štajgr

I. Bakič

štajgr

Jindřich Heidelberg

odborář

Vít Pešina

odborář

Władysław Niedoba

policista

Richard Polák

mladý horník

František Poupě

harmonikář

Josef Skrčený

cizí muž

prof. Václav Křístek

muž v hospodě

J. Lukáš

novinář

Jaroslav Mařan

Tůma, redaktor Zpravodaje

P. Prokop

fotograf

M. Svoboda

hostinský

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Zdena Pavlátová

Assistant Director

Milan Klacek

Continuity

Jana Novotná

Screenstory

Rudolf Černý

Screenplay

Karel Cop

Shooting Script

Julian Dziedzina

Dramaturg

Pavel Klemens

Director of Photography

Rudolf Milič

Second Unit Photography

Karel Dobřichovský

Camera Operator

Jiří Zavřel

Production Designer

Milan Nejedlý

Assistent Production Designer

Josef Kraus

Set Designer

Ivo Černý, Miloš Osvald, Jiří Rulík

Costume Designer

Lída Novotná

Sound Designer

Jiří Kejř

Titles Designed by

Vladimír Dvořák

Production Manager

Jiří Beránek

Unit Production Manager

Vlasta Synkulová, Jaroslav Vágner

Consultant

prof. Václav Křístek, Ing. Václav Skála (doly)

Cooperation

Jana Vohryzková (klapka), Richard Polák (fotograf), horníci Dolu Gottwald II Kladno, horníci Dolu Petr Cinger Ostrava

Music

Music Composed by

Luboš Fišer

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Songs

Když jsem já šel tou Putimskou branou

Writer of Lyrics lidová píseň
Singer Petr SvojtkaJolanta Lothe

Seděla na písku

Singer sbor

Production info

Original Title

Bitva o Hedviku

Czech Title

Bitva o Hedviku

English Title

The Struggle for Hedvika

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

drama

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1972

Production Year

1971—1972

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 30 July 1971
start of filming 1 November 1971
technical Screenplay approved 16 December 1971
end of filming 13 June 1972
projection approval 18 September 1972
withdrawal from distribution 30 June 1990

Premiere

premiere 3 November 1972 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
gala premiere 3 November 1972 (Ostrava)
premiere 16 November 1972 /suitable for youths/ (kino Jalta, Praha)

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Vojtěcha Trapla, Vojtěch Trapl (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny), Výrobní skupina Jiřího Šebora, Jiří Šebor (vedoucí výrobní skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

77 min

Original length in metres

2 175 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

Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu za rok 1972

1973
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Karel Cop