The Three Innocent

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1973

Production year

1973

Premiere

1 March 1974

Runtime

91 min

Director

Josef Mach

Category

film

Genre

comedy, crime

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Tři nevinní

Czech title

Tři nevinní

English title

The Three Innocent

Summary

The inexplicable similarity of four men forms the basis for this simple comedy made by director Josef Mach in 1973. The story – from a screenplay devised by Mach himself – starts out with the robbery of a cinema box office. One after another, car thief Halama, shy bridegroom Poupě, the jealous and divorcing Pic and cinema projectionist Vlk become the prime suspects. However, they are so similar in appearance that jovial police detective Panenka (Josef Bek) keeps getting them mixed up. The rather mechanically construed plot of Tři nevinní (The Tree Innocent), which verges on an action movie, first puts the men behind bars and then into the same hospital... Starring as all four suspects is Jiří Sovák, who tries to dramatically differentiate between the three innocent and one guilty man. Libuše Švormová, Marie Drahokoupilová and Kateřina Buriánová appear in the female roles of this motion picture in which all the clues point to the town of Kolín.

Synopsis

The police are investigating a robbery in the Avia cinema. The injured cashier gives a description of the robber which fits exactly the thief Halama having just stolen a Citroën car with all luggage inside. He is being watched by Boženka who has "bills outstanding" with him. When she spots him then at the florist's, she does not hesitate and calls the police. However, the man with a bunch of flowers is not Halama but Poupě who is going to marry on this day and looks very much like Halama. Halama parks his car in front of the station and sends the luggage to Kolín by train. In no time he is taken in the custody and accused of the robbery. The bride Jaruška waits at the town hall for her bridegroom in vain and sets out to look for him. She finds him in a phone booth, very angrily calling to a woman. Mr Pic, looking just like Poupě, is getting divorced; the crying bride is a nuisance to him and he is shocked. Also Pic is apprehended by the police and so the three men looking just alike meet behind bars, and Jaruška cannot tell who her fiancée is. The cinema cashier cannot identify the robber, and so all of them are released. Halama picks keys to the stolen car from a hide. Boženka wants to get her share and goes to Kolín with him. On their way, after being hunted by the police, Halama crashes. Poupě does not want to tell Jaruška where he spent the last night and jumps into the river. Pic makes up with his wife, then has a row again and in a fit of temper he falls into the lift shaft. Finally the three innocent meet in the hospital. The film operator Vlk, who differs from the others only in wearing moustache, is convicted of the robbery.

Cast

Jiří Sovák

Voice by Zdeněk Kryzánek /promítače Vlka/
zloděj aut Halama/ženich Jan Poupě/žárlivec Láďa Pic/promítač Vlk

Marie Drahokoupilová

nevěsta Jarmila Poupětová

Libuše Švormová

Věra, Picova žena

Kateřina Burianová

Boženka Voráčková

Josef Bek

major VB Panenka

Josef Bláha

cizinec Kandl

Jan Libíček

svatební svědek Emil Rosůlek

Otto Lackovič

příslušník VB Kára

Stanislav Fišer

příslušník VB Kos

Jiří Zahajský

příslušník VB Hloušek

Jan Faltýnek

příslušník VB Havránek

Jan Cmíral

praporčík VB Vaněk

Jiří Pleskot

příslušník VB Kroupa

Milena Dvorská

pokladní Jalovcová

Valerie Chmelová

zdravotní sestra Mája

Josef Beyvl

hlídač parkoviště

Soběslav Sejk

MUDr. Novák

Marie Motlová

matka Pice

Věra Koktová

vedoucí květinářství

Jiří Lír

vedoucí restaurace Kadraba

Václav Štekl

strýc Karel

Svatopluk Skládal

dozorce podpraporčík Vomáčka

Jiřina Bílá

teta Pepička

Jiří Bruder

poručík VB Kokora

František Suk

tchán Oldřich

Mirko Musil

zřízenec v úschovně Vondra

Vladimír Salač

advokát Koutný

Gabriela Osvaldová

družička Dana

Ivana Fišerová

družička Monika

Zuzana Gogelová

družička Hana

Naďa Konvalinková

družička Jana

Bert Schneider

příslušník VB

Renata Bauerová

holčička na svatbě

Jaroslava Bauerová

svatebčanka

D. Charvátová

svatebčanka

Milena Kaplická

svatebčanka

František Kovář

svatebčan

K. Kvarda

svatebčan

A. Procházková

svatebčanka

A. Puč

svatebčan

Z. Sedláková

svatebčanka

Antonín Sedlák

kluk na svatbě

Karel Bělohradský

mohutný ženich

Miroslav Saic

příslušník VB u Piců

Ljuba Konvalinková

prodavačka

Josef Syřiště

dubl

A. Jílek

dubl

Crew and creators

Director

Josef Mach

Second Unit Director

František Matoušek

Assistant Director

Tomáš Urban

Continuity

Eva Kubesová

Screenstory

Josef Mach

Screenplay

Josef Mach

Shooting Script

Josef Mach

Dramaturg

Pavel Hajný

Director of Photography

Josef Pávek

Second Unit Photography

Karel Hejsek

Camera Operator

Michal Hvozdák

Production Designer

Jan Zázvorka

Assistent Production Designer

Vladimír Hovorka

Set Designer

Jiří Bžoch, Karel Kracík, Dana Smržová

Costume Designer

Theodor Pištěk ml.

Assistant Film Editor

Růžena Hejsková

Sound Designer

Milan R. Novotný

Production Manager

František Milič

Unit Production Manager

Václav Havlík, Miroslav Dousek

Unit Production Manager

Tomáš Baloun

Consultant

kpt. Miloslav Misauer

Cooperation

Jindřiška Novotná (klapka), Zdeněk Dukát (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Zdeněk Liška

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Songs

Mám ráda hajnýho

Song Composer Antonín Ulrich
Writer of Lyrics Zdeněk Svěrák
Singer ženský hlas

Production info

Original Title

Tři nevinní

Czech Title

Tři nevinní

English Title

The Three Innocent

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

comedy, crime

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1973

Production Year

1973

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 30 October 1972
start of filming 15 January 1973
technical Screenplay approved 23 March 1973
end of filming 3 October 1973
projection approval 10 October 1973
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1986

Premiere

premiere 1 March 1974 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
premiere 7 March 1974 /suitable for youths/ (kino Sevastopol, Praha)

Studio

Hostivař

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Vladimíra Kaliny, Vladimír Kalina (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

91 min

Original length in metres

2 550 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,66

Colour

black & white

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech