The Secret of the Old Attic

Country

Czechoslovakia, Former Yugoslavia, 1945–1991

Copyright

1984

Production year

1984

Premiere

1 December 1985

Runtime

83 min

Category

film

Genre

children, sci-fi

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Tajemství staré půdy

Czech title

Tajemství staré půdy

English title

The Secret of the Old Attic

Co-production title

Tajna starog tavana

Working title

Zadarski memento

Summary

This 1984 Czechoslovak-Yugoslavian children’s film tells the story of the holiday-time adventures of two boys, Prague native Pepík and Zagreb native Mira. Visiting the sunny Croatian island of Hvar, Pepík experiences far more than his first encounter with the ocean. It turns out that Mira’s great grandfather was an inventor, and the attic conceals his anti-gravity device. The small town also sees additional shenanigans by way of a crooked gang, which decides it wants to get its hands on the precious invention. The gang kidnaps both boys, as well as Pepík’s sister Božena. But the young heroes manage to overpower the crooks and once again enjoy their summer holidays... Directed by Vladimir Tadej at Film Studio Gottwaldov (today Zlín), Tajemství staré půdy (The Secret of the Old Attic) offers simple entertainment, inspired by the children’s book Nic bez Boženy (Nothing Without Božena) from author Mladen Bjažić. Among its predominantly Yugoslavian cast, we find Czech actor Miloš Kopecký in the role of the gang leader.

Synopsis

A boy from Zagreb, named Miro, and a boy from Prague, named Pepík, become acquainted via amateur radio broadcasting. Then, they meet in person during their holidays at the Croatian island of Hvar, to where Miro has invited Pepík. Pepík is captivated by Miro's stories about his great-grandfather, Kružić, a sea captain, scientist and inventor. The two boys get into an attic where the great-grandfather's things are stored. Here, they discover a canon with a double-sided barrel. The description translated from German by Miro's sister Božena informs them that it is an anti-gravitational canon which, if electrically charged, can lift up any object and catapult it into outer space. The boys repair the canon, lift a cart of a local carrier into the air and let it disappear. When some boxes of fish, belonging to the local fisherman, Šime, also disappear in the same way, rumours start to spread about "miracles", and not only at Hvar. Journalists keep arriving in the small town and also the boss of a local criminal organization, who is interested in the matter. He seizes the invention during a big traditional feast. But the boys as well as Božena try to protect the invention and the criminals take them to their boat. Božena, however, manages to direct the canon towards outer space and catapults both the criminals and the ship. The children jump into the sea just in time. They are saved by the police but nevertheless say nothing to anybody about the invention. The mystery of the old attic is preserved and the children can now enjoy their summer holidays in peace.

Cast

Mario Mirković

Voice by Rudolf Hrušínský nejml.
Miro

Jiří Guryča

Voice by Pavel Zajíc
Pepík

Nina Petrović

Voice by Dáša Zajícová
Božena, Mirova sestra

Rene Bitorajac

Voice by Filip Sirotek
Adam

Špiro Guberina

Voice by Milan Mach
nosič Marko Pivac, Adamův otec

Boris Dvornik

Voice by Jan Pohan
rybář Šime

Pjero Jelaska

Voice by Jaroslav Kaňkovský
bednář Toma

Jan Kanyza

inženýr Holm

Mia Oremović

Voice by Iva Hüttnerová
teta Lucie

Edo Peročević

Voice by Oldřich Vlach
inspektor

Antun Nalis

reportér

Ksenija Urličić

Ivo Marjanović

Frane Jurić

Zlatko Martinčević

Vinko Varvodić

Tomislav Gotovac

Vladimir Gačina

Danilo Popržen

Bruno Terbovc

Miroslav Buhin

Miko Zaninović

Živojin Skočić

Tonci Banov

Dragan Sučić

Ivo Krištof

Antuno Banov

sólisté Chorvatského národního divadla Split

herci amatérského divadla Titovi mornari

soubor Plaža sv. Nedilja

obyvatelé Hvaru

Dubbing

Otto Lackovič

hlas strážníka

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Ivan Frič, Vanja Pinter

Assistant Director

Dragutin Krencer, Věra Dvořáková, František Hlaváček

Based on

Mladen Bjažić (Nic bez Boženy /Nista bez Bozene/ – kniha), Zvonimir Furtinger (Nic bez Boženy /Nista bez Bozene/ – kniha)

Director of Photography

Jiří Kolín, Branki Knež

Second Unit Photography

Vladimír Kolář

Camera Operator

Dalibor Michalčík, Stanislav Jesih

Production Designer

Zdeněk Rozkopal

Assistent Production Designer

Petr Smola

Set Designer

Otto Buchta, Miroslav Juras, Ivo Stepan, Jiří Plášil, Josef Vojtášek

Assistant Film Editor

Vlasta Malotová, Marie Vrlová

Sound Designer

Radomír Koutek, Mladen Prebil, Jitka Zvirocká (zvukové efekty)

Assistant Sound Designer

Ladislav Procházka, Zdeněk Skaunic

Special Effects

Jiří Rumler, Boris Masník, Marijan Karoglan

Production Manager

Rudolf Polák, Drago Bilić

Unit Production Manager

Vlado Ivančić, Zdenka Kek, Věra Kopecká, Emir Čejvan, Božena Mihavec, Petr Svozílek, Damir Terešak, Jiří Zemanec

Unit Production Manager

Ludmila Krupová

Cooperation

Jiří Kolín (fotograf), Boris Tadej, D. Dmitrijević, I. Baček, N. Kuzmek, I. Brezarić, T. Medved, S. Čečuk, I. Milatić, M. Lončar, J. Brodanec

Music

Music Composed by

Arsen Dedić

Selected Music

Ivo Tijardović (Splitský akvarel /Splitski akvarel/ – opereta )

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)

Songs

Moja Mariola

Song Composer lidová dalmatská píseň
Singer sbor

Production info

Original Title

Tajemství staré půdy

Czech Title

Tajemství staré půdy

English Title

The Secret of the Old Attic

Co-production Title

Tajna starog tavana

Working Title

Zadarski memento

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

children, sci-fi

Origin country

Czechoslovakia, Former Yugoslavia, 1945–1991

Copyright

1984

Production Year

1984

Production specifications

withdrawal from distribution 1 December 1993

Premiere

premiere 1 December 1985 /suitable for youths/

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

83 min

Original length in metres

2 373 meters

Distribution carrier

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