The Man from London

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1974

Production year

1973—1974

Premiere

7 June 1974

Runtime

91 min

Director

Hynek Bočan

Genre

comedy, crime

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Muž z Londýna

Czech title

Muž z Londýna

English title

The Man from London

Summary

Director Hynek Bočan spent six years barred from making feature-length films after earning the displeasure of the Prague Barrandov film studios' management thanks to his political stance and the motion pictures he had put out during the 1960s. Eventually, the ban was relaxed, but naturally, given the prevailing regime, Bočan was not free to select subject matter for his films. The appearance in his filmography of crime comedy Muž z Londýna (The Man From London, 1974) is a consequence of that uncomfortable situation. The narrative relates an unsuccessful attempt at a crime made by top professional safe cracker George Reiner (Jiří Sovák) from England. Things break down because of rather specific characteristics of the modestly-sized Czech gangland. Reiner is a Czech emigrant, who, after 30 years away has forgotten how things really are in the country of his birth. The robbery of golden twenty-dollar bills from a villa in Pilsen, which is due to soon disappear under the waters of a new dam, is also complicated by the acquisitive but “innocent” Sýkora couple (Lubomír Lipský, Květa Fialová). Despite excellent casting, Bočan’s film amounts to little more than an undemanding, relaxing entertainment.

Synopsis

A British citizen by the name of George Reiner arrives at Prague airport. He was once a Czech safebreaker, and has now returned home after thirty years to steal twenty-dollar gold coins still kept in the safe at a private villa in Plzeň whose owner fled to the West. Donovano, a member of his gang, is waiting for him at the airport and hands him a false identity card, a suitcase with safe-breaking tools and a photograph of the Sýkoras – the present inhabitants of the villa, which is scheduled to disappear under the water of a new reservoir. The burglar introduces himself to Mrs Sýkora as the architect Hönig and she allows him to wander around the house. After his return to the hotel, in a moment of inattention Reiner loses his suitcase with tools to the beginner-thief Celestýn. The burglar tries in vain to borrow some tools from his former buddy Davídek. Another former safebreaker, Fifka, is more willing to help. Celestýn is caught trying to sell the loot. The police begin to search for its real owner. Davídek and Fifka secretly watch Reiner. Nobody realizes that almost all the gold coins have been spent. Sýkora has been filching them for his mistress, and his wife for her lover the jealous ice-hockey player Tratil. The last remaining dollars are now in Mrs Sýkora's small suitcase. All the interested parties end up lifting the suitcase off one another, sometime using force in the process. Donovano is caught at the border while attempting to take the suitcase out of the country. Reiner is merely expelled from the country, but in London, the local police are already waiting for the wanted safebreaker. He now doesn't have to worry about his next fifteen or so years of his life.

Note

Until 1974, the director Hynek Bočan was not allowed to work at Barrandov even as an assistant director for political reasons. This film was the first he was offered to direct.

Photos

dubl za Vladimíra Hrubého

Jiří Růžička

tlustý kluk

Crew and creators

Camera Operator

Antonín Šimral

Production Designer

Oldřich Bosák

Assistent Production Designer

Bohumil Nový

Set Designer

Josef Fiala (2), Marcel Kříž, Eva Slívová

Costume Designer

Lída Novotná

Costumes

Bohumila Maršálková, Marie Zdenková

Make-Up Artist

Anežka Kunová, Jana Bozděchová

Film Editor

Zdeněk Stehlík

Assistant Film Editor

Miloslava Kostková

Sound Designer

František Strangmüller

Stunts

Jiří Plachý, Ivan Rejmon

Production Manager

Jaroslav Prokop

Unit Production Manager

Jiří Holeček, Vlastimil Maršálek

Unit Production Manager

Václav Maršálek

Consultant

mjr. Miroslav Korda

Cooperation

Marcela Žížalová (klapka), Ivan Minář (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Zdeněk Liška

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Songs

Ó, Velvary

Singer skupina Bukanýři

Láska bláznivá

Song Composer Karel Svoboda
Writer of Lyrics Ladislav Štaidl
Singer Karel GottJiří Krampol

Production info

Original Title

Muž z Londýna

Czech Title

Muž z Londýna

English Title

The Man from London

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

comedy, crime

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1974

Production Year

1973—1974

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 16 April 1973
start of filming 18 June 1973
technical Screenplay approved 17 July 1973
end of filming 24 January 1974
projection approval 6 February 1974
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1986

Premiere

gala premiere 1 June 1974 (Sportovní hala Parku kultury a oddechu Julia Fučíka, Praha)
premiere 7 June 1974 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
premiere 20 June 1974 /suitable for youths/ (kino Sevastopol, Praha)

Production

Filmové studio Barrandov

Copyright Holders

Státní fond kinematografie

Studio

Barrandov, Hostivař

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Miloše Brože, Miloš Brož (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny), Výrobní skupina Věry Kadlecové, Věra Kadlecová (vedoucí výrobní skupiny)

Sales

Národní filmový archiv, Obchodní oddělení

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

91 min

Original length in metres

2 555 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

The Man from London

Country

Copyright

Production year

Premiere

Runtime

Director

Category

Genre

Typology

Original title

Czech title

English title

Summary

Synopsis

Note

Photos

Cast

Jan Jánský

František Baťka

Miloslav Čech

Jiří Nepor

Květoslav Matějka

Vítězslav Sutr

Eva Ziková

Naděžda Voráčková

Irena Tichá

Anna Bejvlová

Petr Drančák

Pavel Eremiáš

Josef Gorčík

Miloslav Hradecký

Vojtěch Hrubý

Jan Jankovský (2)

Josef Kreidl

Miroslava Oberfalcerová

František Páník

Zdeněk Pilík

Josef Režný

Milan Švec

Josef Hložek

Pavel Klos

Richard Kroczek

Vlastimil Kučaj

Jan Matuszek

Jiří Neuwirth

Helmut Pokorný

Henryk Sumera

František Tůma

Pavel Rejmon

Crew and creators

Director

Second Unit Director

Assistant Director

Continuity

Screenstory

Screenplay

Shooting Script

Dramaturg

Director of Photography

Second Unit Photography

Camera Operator

Production Designer

Assistent Production Designer

Set Designer

Costume Designer

Costumes

Make-Up Artist

Film Editor

Assistant Film Editor

Sound Designer

Stunts

Production Manager

Unit Production Manager

Unit Production Manager

Consultant

Cooperation

Music

Music Composed by

Music Performed by