Three Nuts for Cinderella

Country

Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic

Copyright

1973

Production year

1973

Premiere

16 November 1973

Runtime

85 min

Category

film

Genre

fairytale

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Tři oříšky pro Popelku

Czech title

Tři oříšky pro Popelku

English title

Three Nuts for Cinderella

Co-production title

Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel

Summary

It’s very unlikely that a discussion over which Czech fairytale movies might enjoy timeless popularity would overlook this renowned feature, a 1973 motion picture made by Václav Vorlíček. Actually a Czech-German co-production, it was released as the first of three classically interpreted fairytales created by Vorlíček, a well-known director of popular fantasy entertainments (1977 brought Jak se budí princezny – The Best Way of Waking Up Princesses; 1978 saw the distribution of Princ a Večernice – The Prince and the Evening Star). Much of the credit for Tři oříšky pro Popelku (Three Nuts for Cinderella) goes to the screenwriter František Pavlíček. As he had fallen out of favour with the communist regime, Pavlíček was barred from participating in cultural activities. Nevertheless, he wrote the screenplay and proceeded to hide behind the name of his colleague, Bohumila Zelenková, in the film credits. Previously, for the film Princ Bajaja (Prince Bayaya, 1971), Eva Košlerová lent him her name in the same fashion. To script Tři oříšky pro Popelku, Pavlíček sensitively intertwined two tales by 19th century Czech writer Božena Němcová: O Popelce (About Cinderella) and O třech sestrách (About Three Sisters). Simultaneously, he ensured the protagonists were enhanced with more complex motives and more attractive pastimes and predilections. Director Vorlíček’s Popelka (“Cinderella”), masterfully interpreted by Libuše Šafránková, may be a poor, scorned servant in the opulent home of her stepmother, but she knows how to ride a horse, shoot a crossbow and hunt. Next to the emancipated heroine, who also cuts a convincing presence in male clothing, Pavel Trávníček’s prince comes across as a devil-may-care young man, more interested in having fun with his friends than in marriage and courtly duties. The determined beauty, who makes a dazzling appearance at the royal ball at which the noble young man is supposed to find a bride, gives her beloved a much-needed lesson in independence and maturity... This mildly modernised fairytale is somewhat modest when it comes to true magic: the only supernatural elements are the heroine’s animal friends and the titular hazlenuts, which magic up the outfit the heroine requires to win the Prince’s heart. Alongside the Czech actors (with Šafránková at the fore, Trávníček playing her princely suitor and Vladimír Menšík performing as the energetic farmhand Vincek), the German contribution to the cast includes Rolf Hoppe as the king, Karin Lesch as the queen and Carola Braunbock as Cinderella’s uncharitable stepmother. Karel Svoboda’s song Kdepak ty ptáčku hnízdo máš (Where is your nest little bird?), recorded for the film by Karel Gott, achieved cult status.

Synopsis

The owners of a large estate are getting ready for the arrival of the king and his suite. The mistress of the estate and her daughter Dora, whose beauty leaves a lot to be desired, have titivated their looks to impress the young prince, for whom the king and queen are seeking a bride. Dora's step-sister, Popelka (Cinderella), was cast out to live with the servants, but her beauty and warm-hearted manner earned her the love of all - people as well as animals. Only her step-mother and Dora hate her. Just before the king's arrival, Popelka sticks up for a cook's young apprentice and as a punishment, she has to pick peas out of a bowl of cinder. As the pigeons offer their help, Popelka can enjoy a ride on her beloved horse called Jurášek. In a forest, she meets three young hunters, whose hunt she spoils. The prince, one of the hunters, admires Popelka's courage and skill. In the meantime, Popelka's step-mother compels the invitation to a ball from the king. After the king's departure, she sends her servant Vincek to a nearby town to buy jewels and cloth for new dresses. Popelka gets only three hazel nuts, which she hides among her treasures in the granary. One of the hazelnuts falls and cracks open to unfold a beautiful hunter's suit. Popelka puts it on and takes Jurášek for a ride. In the forest she again meets the prince and his friends. As she is brilliant with her cross-bow, she wins the shooting competition and disappears. In the evening, after Dora with her mother leave for the ball, Popelka cracks the second magic nut, which reveals a beautiful dress, and she goes to join the ball at the royal chateau. She is the most stunning beauty of all and the prince falls in love with her. Popelka, however, asks him riddles, which should reveal her true identity to the prince. As the prince cannot answer, Popelka runs away. During her escape, she loses her shoe. The prince follows her all the way to the estate, where he demands to see all young girls in residence and by trying on the shoe, he wants to find Popelka. However, Popelka has been imprisoned by the step-mother and Dora's foot is too big for the shoe. Popelka manages to escape, she puts on a wedding dress that she found in the last third magic nut and rides on Jurášek into the fields. When the prince catches up with her, Popelka helps him to answer the crucial questions and accepts the prince's proposal of marriage.

Note

In the introductory titles of the film Bohumila Zelenková her name be used instead of the screenplay writer František Pavlíček, who could not be credited as the author at the time for political reasons. This theme had already been treated in a Czech film under the title Cinderella (1929; directed by Josef Kokeisl).

Cast

Carola Braunbock /ž/

Voice by Jaroslava Adamová
statkářka, Popelčina nevlastní matka

Karin Lesch /ž/

Voice by Květa Fialová
královna

Dana Hlaváčová

Dora, Popelčina nevlastní sestra

Jan Libíček

preceptor

Vítězslav Jandák

pobočník Kamil

Jaroslav Drbohlav

pobočník Vítek

Vladimír Menšík

čeledín Vincek

Míla Myslíková

hospodyně Rozi

Helena Růžičková

tlustá nápadnice Droběna z Ouklova

Jan Šůs

Voice by Mirko Musil
šafář

Ostara Körner /ž/

baronka Adelajda z Kratihájů

Joachim Pape

hodnostář

Gerd Funk

hodnostář

Holger Eckert

Voice by Miloš Vavruška
ceremoniář

Erika Stiska /ž/

hraběnka ze Žemlova

Jutta Molter /ž/

manželka ministra

Aurora Pan /ž/

manželka ministra

Gertrud Adam /ž/

služka

Ursula Möckel /ž/

šlechtična

Bohumil Koška

pekař/čeledín

Jiří Kodýtek

pekař/čeledín

Vladimír Horáček

řemeslník

Miroslav Krejča

čeledín s pečení

Vladimír Navrátil

čeledín s pochodní

Mirka Cingaislová

děvečka s dížemi

Danuše Mikulová

dívka s kuřaty

Ludvík Wolf

dubl za Carolu Braunbockovou

Dubbing

Mirko Musil

hlas čeledína

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Jaroslav Pour, Michael Englberger

Assistant Director

Petr Špás, Peter Bohnenstengel, Jiřina Vaňková

Screenstory

František Pavlíček (pod jménem Bohumily Zelenkové)

Based on

Božena Němcová (O Popelce – pohádka)

Screenplay

František Pavlíček (pod jménem Bohumily Zelenkové), Václav Vorlíček

Shooting Script

Václav Vorlíček

Director of Photography

Josef Illík

Second Unit Photography

Adolf Hejzlar

Camera Operator

Antonín Šimral

Production Designer

Oldřich Bosák, Alfred Thomalla

Assistent Production Designer

Bohumil Nový, Werner Zieschang

Set Designer

František Straka, Bedřich Čermák, Herbert Rother

Costume Designer

Theodor Pištěk ml.

Assistant Film Editor

Jitka Šulcová

Production Manager

Jiří Krejčí, Heinz Herrmann

Unit Production Manager

Renée Lavecká, Josef Mojžíš, Harald Andreas, Věra Winkelhöferová

Unit Production Manager

Vlasta Mathauserová

Consultant

František Michálek (jezdectví)

Cooperation

Olga Hrčková (klapka), Jaromír Komárek (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Karel Svoboda

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček), Orchestr Ladislava Štaidla (Music Conducted by Ladislav Štaidl)

Songs

Kdepak ty ptáčku hnízdo máš

Song Composer Karel Svoboda
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Štaidl
Singer Karel GottVokální soubor Lubomíra Pánka

Melodie beze slov

Song Composer Karel Svoboda
Singer Libuše Šafránková [dab]Jitka Molavcová

Production info

Original Title

Tři oříšky pro Popelku

Czech Title

Tři oříšky pro Popelku

English Title

Three Nuts for Cinderella

Co-production Title

Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

fairytale

Origin country

Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic

Copyright

1973

Production Year

1973

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 9 June 1972
technical Screenplay approved 14 November 1972
start of filming 11 December 1972
end of filming 29 March 1973
the first film copy approved 30 May 1973
projection approval 14 June 1973
end of filming 19 June 1973
withdrawal from distribution 30 June 1995

Premiere

gala premiere 26 October 1973 (kino Sevastopol, Praha)
premiere 16 November 1973 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
premiere 20 December 1973 /suitable for youths/ (kino Sevastopol, Praha)
renewed premiere 17 December 2015 /suitable for all ages without limit/

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů (původní 1973), Národní filmový archiv (obnovená 2015)

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Oty Hofmana, Ota Hofman (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny), Zakázková skupina, Václav Cajthaml (vedoucí Zakázkové skupiny), Berlin (DEFA)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

85 min

Original length in metres

2 370 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm, DCP 2-D, BRD

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

Awards

Vítěz

Festival: 40. mezinárodní festival filmů pro děti a mládež Zlín

2000
Zlín / Czech Republic
Václav Vorlíček

Vítěz

Event: Televizní anketa diváků o nejpopulárnější českou filmovou komedii století – anketa České televize a Týdeníku Televize Volíme veselohru století

1998
Praha / Czech Republic

Vítěz

Festival: 30. dětský filmový a televizní festival Oty Hofmana Ostrov

1998
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czech Republic

Vítěz

Festival: 2. mezinárodní filmový festival Manila

1983
Manila / Philippines
Filmové studio Barrandov

Vítěz

Festival: 15. mezinárodní filmový festival Panama

1977
Panama / Panama
Karel Svoboda

Vítěz

Festival: 14. festival filmů pro děti Gottwaldov

1974
Zlín / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Festival: 12. festival českých a slovenských filmů Nitra

1974
Nitra / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Exhibition: 5. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov nad Ohří

1973
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia
Pavel Trávníček

Vítěz

Exhibition: 5. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov nad Ohří

1973
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia
Libuše Šafránková

Vítěz

Exhibition: 5. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov nad Ohří

1973
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia