Helter-Skelter

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1989

Production year

1988

Premiere

1 December 1989

Runtime

73 min

Director

Otakar Kosek

Category

film

Genre

detective, children, crime

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Tobogan

Czech title

Tobogan

English title

Helter-Skelter

Summary

Though Otakar Kosek mostly directed television films, he also enriched his filmography with a handful of feature-film outings. The children’s film Lukáš (1982) is perhaps Kosek’s best known film, for which he received an honorary mention from UNICEF, and a gold medal at the West Berlin International Children’s Film Festival. In addition to this, Kosek also made the family film Už se nebojím (I’m Not Afraid Any More, 1984), and children’s film Tobogan (Helter-Skelter, 1989). Its December 1989 premiere meant that Tobogan was mostly overlooked amidst the flurry of the Velvet Revolution. Juraj Fándli served as the cinematographer, having collaborated with Kosek on his previous feature-film outing Sedmé nebe (Great Summer, 1987). Tobogan is set around a housing estate where a group of boys spend their summer holidays. Mostly freed from parental oversight, the nosy youngsters come across a group of burglars robbing local apartments.

Synopsis

The elegant Mr Šmídek is the terror of all the boys living in a tower block on a housing estate - he keeps reproving them all the time. During the summer holidays, the boys organise an observation post on the roof. Flat robberies begin to proliferate on the housing estate. The boys decide to search out the thief. They suspect the unlikeable Šmídek the most. They determine to break into his flat and find the stolen things there. The only problem is how to get inside. Filip queries a locksmith as well as his father but with no success. Šmídek himself eventually gives Miloš the keys, asking him to empty his letter box during his absence. Searching through Šmídek's flat, the boys run into the real thieves - two young men dressed in jeans. The men tie up Vašek and Filip and run away. The rest of the boys try to catch the thieves' car on bicycles but fail. They are fortunately helped by Mr Šmídek who catches up with the thieves in his car. The boys cancel their roof observation post and get into a quarrel. But they soon realize that everything is just a game, and they concordantly slide down the staircase helter-skelter.

Cast

Jiří Jaroš

Vašek Dostál

Antonín Hejtmánek

Jirka Trojan, Vaškův kamarád

Miroslav Křižan

Honza, Vaškův mladší bratr

David Pospíšil

Miloš Svátek

Marcel Rech

Filip Valenta

Stanislav Šárský

Jan Šmídek zvaný Vejtaha

Maroš Kramár

Dostál, otec Vaška a Honzy

Marcela Peňázová

Milada Dostálová, matka Vaška a Honzova matka

Alena Procházková

Svátková, Milošova matka

Mojmír Maděrič

muž odjíždějící na dovolenou

Vlasta Mecnarowská

příjemná paní

Hynek Kubasta

zámečník Král

Zdeněk Dvořák

Trojan, Jirkův otec

Marcela Hudecová

Trojanová, Jirkova matka

Ivan Řehák

Valenta, Filipův otec

Marcela Večeřová

Valentová, Filipova matka

Vladimír Hrabal

zloděj

Karel Hoffmann

zavalitý muž

Jaroslava Tihelková

manželka zavalitého muže

Jiří Vychopeň

Crew and creators

Director

Otakar Kosek

Second Unit Director

Zdeněk Zydroň

Assistant Director

František Hlaváček

Screenstory

Josef Eismann

Director of Photography

Juraj Fándli

Second Unit Photography

Vladimír Kolář

Production Designer

Jana Puškáčová

Set Designer

Vladislav Adam, Petr Dostál, Josef Šťovíček

Costume Designer

Stanislava Slováčková

Film Editor

Jiří Krška

Sound Designer

Radomír Koutek, Jitka Zvirocká (zvukové efekty)

Assistant Sound Designer

Jiří Bělík, Zdeněk Bobek

Production Manager

Jaromír Úlehla

Unit Production Manager

Věra Kopecká, Alena Pekařová

Unit Production Manager

Dalimil Zedníček

Cooperation

Jana Vaculíková (klapka), Z. Hejtmánková (fotografka), P. Kosková (fotografka), Zdeněk Novotný (3), J. Hrubý, L. Masár, J. Machová, R. Šimko, Bronislav Sukup

Music

Music Composed by

Vadim Petrov

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Mario Klemens)

Production info

Original Title

Tobogan

Czech Title

Tobogan

English Title

Helter-Skelter

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

detective, children, crime

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1989

Production Year

1988

Production specifications

start of filming 1 August 1988
end of filming 13 October 1988
the first film copy approved 15 February 1989
projection approval 16 March 1989
withdrawal from distribution 31 July 1995

Premiere

premiere 1 December 1989 /suitable for youths/

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

73 min

Original length in metres

2 082 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