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.
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.
Eda Krahulík, redaktor Dělníka
horník Toník Holas
tajemník sociálně demokratických odborů Knor
Josef Urban
Toníkova matka
služka Žofka
major četnictva
inženýr Mareček
horník Fanta
horník Lorenc
Alan
novinář
horník Gargulák
prošedivělý horník
Litošová, redaktorka Národní politiky
účetní
Wágner, redaktor Poledního listu
sekretářka
Vítek, redaktor Expresu
mladý hutník
Jarolím, redaktor Českého slova
štajgr Prosek
hlasatel
jednoruký
průvodčí
topič Franta
děda v hospodě
poručík četníků
četník
četník
četník
štajgr
štajgr
odborář
odborář
policista
policista
mladý horník
harmonikář
cizí muž
muž v hospodě
novinář
Tůma, redaktor Zpravodaje
fotograf
hostinský
Zdena Pavlátová
Julian Dziedzina
Ivo Černý, Miloš Osvald, Jiří Rulík
Vlasta Synkulová, Jaroslav Vágner
prof. Václav Křístek, Ing. Václav Skála (doly)
Jana Vohryzková (klapka), Richard Polák (fotograf), horníci Dolu Gottwald II Kladno, horníci Dolu Petr Cinger Ostrava
FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)
Writer of Lyrics lidová píseň
Singer Petr SvojtkaJolanta Lothe
Singer sbor
Bitva o Hedviku
Bitva o Hedviku
The Struggle for Hedvika
film
featuretheatrical distribution
drama
Czechoslovakia
1972
1971—1972
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 3 November 1972 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
gala premiere 3 November 1972 (Ostrava)
premiere 16 November 1972 /suitable for youths/ (kino Jalta, Praha)
Dramaturgická skupina Vojtěcha Trapla, Vojtěch Trapl (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny), Výrobní skupina Jiřího Šebora, Jiří Šebor (vedoucí výrobní skupiny)
feature film
77 min
2 175 meters
16mm, 35mm
1:1,66
colour
sound
mono
Czech
Czech
without subtitles
Czech
Event: Prémie Českého literárního fondu za rok 1972
1973
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Karel Cop