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.
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, Kruić, 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 Boena 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, ime, 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 Boena try to protect the invention and the criminals take them to their boat. Boena, 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.
Voice by Rudolf Hrušínský nejml.
Miro
Voice by Pavel Zajíc
Pepík
Voice by Dáša Zajícová
Božena, Mirova sestra
Voice by Filip Sirotek
Adam
Voice by Milan Mach
nosič Marko Pivac, Adamův otec
Voice by Jan Pohan
rybář Šime
Voice by Jaroslav Kaňkovský
bednář Toma
inženýr Holm
boss
Voice by Iva Hüttnerová
teta Lucie
Voice by Oldřich Vlach
inspektor
reportér
hlas strážníka
Ivan Frič, Vanja Pinter
Dragutin Krencer, Věra Dvořáková, František Hlaváček
Mladen Bjažić (Nic bez Boženy /Nista bez Bozene/ – kniha), Zvonimir Furtinger (Nic bez Boženy /Nista bez Bozene/ – kniha)
Dalibor Michalčík, Stanislav Jesih
Otto Buchta, Miroslav Juras, Ivo Stepan, Jiří Plášil, Josef Vojtášek
Radomír Koutek, Mladen Prebil, Jitka Zvirocká (zvukové efekty)
Jiří Rumler, Boris Masník, Marijan Karoglan
Vlado Ivančić, Zdenka Kek, Věra Kopecká, Emir Čejvan, Božena Mihavec, Petr Svozílek, Damir Terešak, Jiří Zemanec
Ludmila Krupová
Jiří Kolín (fotograf), Boris Tadej, D. Dmitrijević, I. Baček, N. Kuzmek, I. Brezarić, T. Medved, S. Čečuk, I. Milatić, M. Lončar, J. Brodanec
Ivo Tijardović (Splitský akvarel /Splitski akvarel/ – opereta )
FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)
Song Composer lidová dalmatská píseň
Singer sbor
Tajemství staré půdy
Tajemství staré půdy
The Secret of the Old Attic
Tajna starog tavana
Zadarski memento
film
featuretheatrical distribution
children, sci-fi
Czechoslovakia, Former Yugoslavia, 1945–1991
1984
1984
withdrawal from distribution 1 December 1993
premiere 1 December 1985 /suitable for youths/
feature film
83 min
2 373 meters
35mm
1:1,37
colour
sound
mono
Czech
Czech
without subtitles
Czech