At the World’s End

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1975

Production year

1975

Premiere

26 December 1975

Runtime

98 min

Director

Ivo Novák

Category

film

Genre

drama

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Na konci světa

Czech title

Na konci světa

English title

At the World’s End

Summary

An academic education is not entirely useless – why it can even be effective in the fight against saboteurs being mounted by a small border patrol unit. And look, it is the autumn of 1950 and new lance corporal Maryška, a scholar of Latin and Greek, is arriving. The scenario he faces is thus: It turns out that the new innkeeper Šebek is providing assistance to the cussed, evil-minded agents from the other side of the border. Maryška considers the testimony of a detained butcher from Karlovy Vary. As an expert on the philosopher Diogenes, he astutely discovers that the agents are being transported in empty beer barrels... The theme of “sophistication” was brought into this forgettable 1975 Ivo Novák motion picture by Drahoslav Makovička, who cooperated in several detective story film productions as the screenwriter and supervisor of dramaturgy. The vigilant border patrol members are played by Oldřich Vízner, Jiří Krampol and Bronislav Križan. The wretched innkeeper who is eventually crushed by the iron hand of the law is portrayed by Jiří Zahajský.

Synopsis

It is the autumn of 1950 and a small border army unit is awaiting the reinforcements, but the only one to arrive is Lance-Corporal Maryška, a teacher of Latin and Greek in civilian life. The population of the border settlement is small. Horse-trader Permanec convinces the stud-farm manager Jezbera that the commander of the frontier guard is going to write a report on his work for the directorate. The sudden death of the pub landlord gets in the way of a planned dance party with girls from the porcelain factory. Jezbera's pretty niece Tereza sweeps Private Puchmeltr off his feet but his night visit to the girl's house is interrupted by machine gun fire on the German side of the border. The new landlord Šebek starts assisting foreign secret agents. The machine gun shot is a signal that one of them has crossed the border. Puchmeltr catches sight of the man on his way back to the barracks but he doesn't have a weapon to arrest him. Jezbera is keen to oblige Lieutenant Koudela and shows him signs of the agent's hiding place in the forest. Private Ťoupal wants to flee the country and join his brother who has immigrated to Canada. Instead, he gets frightened and shoots dead the foreign frontier violator illegally crossing the frontier and as a result rewarded, and reconsiders his plan. Šebek is helping the lawyer Neuberg across the border in return for money, but the crossing is jeopardised and he deliberately sends the lawyer into the hands of the army patrol. The testimony of the arrested butcher from Carlsbad who provided lodging to the first agent refers to a certain Ancient Greek philosopher. The well-educated Maryška identifies the philosopher Diogenes and the empty barrels in which the agents are transported into the country. Everything points to Šebek. The landlord is arrested and his pub shut down, and the conscripts are ending their army service. The coach with the girls from the porcelain factory is making another futile journey.

Cast

Bronislav Križan

Voice by Radoslav Brzobohatý
poručík Koudela

Petr Svojtka

vojín Zdeněk Puchmeltr

Luděk Munzar

správce hřebčína Jiří Jezbera

Andrea Čunderlíková

Voice by Jorga Kotrbová
Tereza, Jezberova neteř

Jana Hlaváčová

Jezberova žena

Karel Augusta

strážmistr František Daněk

Oldřich Vízner

svobodník absolvent Maryška

Jana Drbohlavová

Koudelova žena

Jiří Krampol

desátník Koubek

Jiří Zahajský

hostinský Šebek

Zdeněk Řehoř

Doležal, pracovník karlovarské Jednoty

Jiří Korn

vojín Krutský

Vladislav Beneš

vojín Ťoupal

Jan Kraus

desátník Suchomel

Alexej Okuněv

Voice by Jaromír Hanzlík
desátník Lebeda

Josef Somr

koňský handlíř Permanec

Robert Vrchota

řidič Josef Zelenka

Jan Kuželka

kuchař Havelka

Jiří Pleskot

advokát Neuberg

Josef Hlinomaz

řezník Jiráček

Jan Faltýnek

řidič Krejcar

Radan Rusev

agent v balonovém plášti

Vítězslav Bartoš

hajný Zemánek

Miloš Vavruška

pracovník Krajské správy Ministerstva vnitra

Karel Hábl

číšník Ríša

Dobroslav Čech

funkcionář ROH

Jiří Güttner

jezdec

Pavel Jareš

jezdec

Miroslav Chochola

vojín s basou

Zdeněk Mucha

vojín Ouzký

Petr Svárovský

vojín Kadlec

Břetislav Tetera

vojín Široký

Crew and creators

Director

Ivo Novák

Second Unit Director

Bohumil Kouba

Assistant Director

Jana Vohryzková

Director of Photography

Rudolf Milič

Second Unit Photography

Josef Pechar, Michal Kulič

Camera Operator

Vladimír Murat

Production Designer

Jaroslav Krška

Assistent Production Designer

Michal Krška

Set Designer

Rudolf Beneš, Josef Calta, Jaromír Dědek

Costume Designer

Theodor Pištěk ml.

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Assistant Film Editor

Magda Hájková

Sound Designer

Josef Vlček

Special Effects

Trikový ateliér FSB

Production Manager

Jiří Pokorný

Unit Production Manager

Vlasta Synkulová, Jan Vild

Unit Production Manager

Jan Milič

Consultant

mjr. Stanislav Hrdlička

Cooperation

Stanislava Kadlecová (klapka), Josef Janoušek (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Petr Hapka

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)

Songs

Chtěl bych dětské oči mít

Song Composer Petr Hapka
Writer of Lyrics Zdeněk Rytíř
Singer Jiří Korn

Co jste, hasiči /parafráze Slyšte, bažanti, slyšte noviny/

Singer mužský sbor

Production info

Original Title

Na konci světa

Czech Title

Na konci světa

English Title

At the World’s End

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

drama

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1975

Production Year

1975

Production specifications

withdrawal from distribution 30 June 1990

Premiere

premiere 18 December 1975 /suitable for youths/ (kino Lucerna, Praha)
premiere 26 December 1975 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Karla Copa, Karel Cop (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

98 min

Original length in metres

2 733 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