The Gold Hen

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1980

Production year

1980

Premiere

3 July 1981

Runtime

78 min

Category

film

Genre

comedy

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Zlatá slepice

Czech title

Zlatá slepice

English title

The Gold Hen

Summary

This entertaining fairytale-type feature with a moral was made after film publicist Jaroslav Boček and director Ladislav Rychman plucked a story from a book of humorous stories published by the former. The main protagonist is cabbie Marcel who happens to bring home an egg with a golden shell from a grocery. The young man’s girlfriend Irena resolves to track down the hen that laid the egg. Once the couple obtain a suitable rooster for the miraculous hen their breeding operation in a high-rise flat successfully takes off. However, complaints from neighbours and other complications soon cause the pair to part ways. Not long after both Marcel and Irena realise that their love for one another is more important than riches… The lead roles in the 1980 picture went to Jan Kanyza and Taťjana Medvecká.

Synopsis

Taxi driver Marcel Tůma calls at a local supermarket on his way back from work. When he gets home, he finds a gold-shell egg among the eggs he bought. A jeweller confirms that the shell is of real gold, paying him good money for its half. Marcel's girlfriend Irena realizes the value of the egg and decides at all costs to find the hen that lays such treasures. She looks up the address of the hennery, and she deceitfully gets a few-day access to visit. Despite they grow two hundred thousand hens there, Irena succeeds in finding the magic hen, taking it to Marcel's apartment. They both pick a gold egg every day. Irena becomes greedy, longing for more eggs. She reads plenty of heredity studies; then gets a cock, hoping to breed another magic hen. Breeding hens in a block-of-flats brings a lot of trouble, though. The The cock crows early in the morning, neighbours keep complaining and Marcel gets in trouble because a client of his gets dirty in the flat because of the chicken droppings. Marcel refuses to take care of the chicken. Irena and Marcel have a big quarrel and split up. Irena leaves him to live with her aunt in a small village, where unfortunately the hen gets stolen by a fox. The new grown chicken only lays ordinary eggs. Eventually Irena and Marcel make up their quarrel, finding out that the happiness is more than money.

Cast

Taťjana Medvecká

servírka Irena Lapková

Jan Kanyza

taxikář Marcel Tůma, Irenin přítel

Jaroslava Pokorná

sousedka Tloukalová

Jiří Bruder

manžel Tloukalové

Zora Jiráková

Irenina matka

Lukáš Vaculík

elektrikář Roman Ratkin

Zdeněk Dítě

ředitel drůbežárny Formáček

Jiří Koutný

vrátný drůbežárny Vodička

Jana Vaňková

Marcelova zákaznice

Václav Štekl

profesor Křováček

Jaroslav Heyduk

vedoucí samoobsluhy

Luděk Svoboda

příslušník VB

Marie-Luisa Váchová

servírka Jiřina

Karel Chromík

docent vysoké zemědělské školy

Mahulena Bočanová

Eva, Irenina sestra

Jan Kotva

závozník

Ladislav Krečmer

vedoucí provozu Jan Sitko

Václav Luks

muž s holí

Vladimír Pospíšil

muž ve slamáku

Taťana Puttová

žena s kolem

Lucie Rychmanová

holčička

Miloslav Šindler

drůbežář

Ota Žebrák

vrátný

Klára Pollertová

holčička vracející krabici

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Vítězslav Kulle

Assistant Director

Luděk Svoboda

Screenstory

Jaroslav Boček

Shooting Script

Ladislav Rychman

Director of Photography

Josef Hanuš

Second Unit Photography

Rudolf Jokl

Camera Operator

Stanislav Šťastný

Production Designer

Oldřich Bosák

Assistent Production Designer

František Císař

Set Designer

Zdeněk Jeřábek, Rudolf Kinský, Miroslav Stibr

Costume Designer

Irena Greifová

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Assistant Film Editor

Magda Hájková, Helena Lehovcová

Sound Designer

Milan R. Novotný

Special Effects

Trikový ateliér FSB

Titles Designed by

Vladimír Jiránek

Production Manager

Eliška Nejedlá

Unit Production Manager

Jana Koubová, Jarmila Tomišková

Unit Production Manager

Jiří Pavlásek

Consultant

dr. Jiří Žirovnický

Cooperation

Vítězslava Marčíková (klapka), Oldřich Křesina (vrchní osvětlovač), Vladimír Souček (fotograf), Alfréd Javar-Červinka (práce se zvířaty – cvičitel slepic)

Music

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Songs

Kokodák

Song Composer Jiří BažantJiří Malásek
Writer of Lyrics Ivan Mládek
Singer Ivan Mládek

Production info

Original Title

Zlatá slepice

Czech Title

Zlatá slepice

English Title

The Gold Hen

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1980

Production Year

1980

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 20 September 1979
start of filming 1 April 1980
technical Screenplay approved 28 April 1980
end of filming 31 October 1980
projection approval 3 December 1980
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1986

Premiere

premiere 3 July 1981 /suitable for youths/

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Miloše Brože, Miloš Brož (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

78 min

Original length in metres

2 244 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

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