Directed by:
František VláčilCinematography:
Rudolf MiličComposer:
Zdeněk LiškaCast:
Miroslav Macháček, Vítězslav Vejražka, Čestmír Řanda st., Karla Chadimová, Vít Olmer, Vlastimil Hašek, Bedřich Karen, František Kovářík, Zdeněk Kutil (more)Plots(1)
The freeborn miller Spálený is a thorn in the side of the regent Valečský. The regent does not like that people respect the miller for his wisdom, goodness and knowledge of nature. Therefore the regent reacts with hatred to the miller's warning against the construction of a new darn at a place that is called "The Sunken Spot". He even tells his guest, Bishop Diettrichstein, that the miller and his family are suspected of witchcraft. A long time ago, Swedish soldiers put the mill on fire but the miller's family escaped as if by a miracle. The bishop sends a fanatic priest, probably a significant Church dignitary, to help the regent. The priest, too, thinks that the miller is detrimental to the reputation of the Church. He therefore searches through the mill, talks both to the miller and his son Jan and tries to convict them. He recruits the gamekeeper Filip, who is fond of Jan's girlfriend Martina. The priest's hatred gets even stronger when the miller succeeds in finding a spring of water during the droughts and the regent's new barn sinks in the course of the village dance. After this accident, the miller disappears. The priest tries to bully the villagers into turning against him, but he fails. Therefore he rides with the regent and Filip to the mill. There, Jan finds a letter in which his father describes the way to the underground. Soon afterwards, the priest, the regent and Filip walk into the underground and set off down the corridor that the father warned Jan against. All three die. Jan and Martina are freed. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Miroslav Macháček
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Hamlet (1986) (theatrical recording)
Sňatky z rozumu (1968) (series)
The Valley of the Bees (1967)
Vítězslav Vejražka
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
Lucerna (1967) (TV movie)
The Valley of the Bees (1967)
Hrdinové okamžiku (1961) (series)
Čestmír Řanda st.
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Ikaros' Fall (1977) (TV movie)
Tažní ptáci (1983) (TV movie)
Ubohý pan Kufalt (1981) (TV movie)
Karla Chadimová
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Best movies:
The Elementary School (1991)
Secluded, Near Woods (1976)
Boys Will Be Boys (1975)
Vít Olmer
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
Best movies:
Boys Will Be Boys (1975)
Ball Lightning (1978)
The Devil's Trap (1961)
Vlastimil Hašek
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Sňatky z rozumu (1968) (series)
The Valley of the Bees (1967)
Four Murders Are Enough, Darling (1970)
Bedřich Karen
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
The Good Soldier Schweik (1956)
The White Disease (1937)
The Devil's Trap (1961)
František Kovářík
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
Marecek, Pass Me the Pen! (1976)
Secluded, Near Woods (1976)
The Valley of the Bees (1967)
Zdeněk Kutil
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Ubohý pan Kufalt (1981) (TV movie)
All My Compatriots (1968)
The Good Soldier Schweik 2: Beg to Report, Sir (1957)
Jaroslav Moučka
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Men About Town (1969)
The Sorcerer's Apprentice (1977)
Sňatky z rozumu (1968) (series)
Ladislav Kazda
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
The Devil's Trap (1961)
Romeo, Juliet and Darkness (1959)
Hope (1963)
Jiří Vršťala
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
The Assassination (1964)
The Devil's Trap (1961)
Ikarie XB 1 (1963)
Josef Hlinomaz
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
The Emperor's Baker - The Baker's Emperor (1951)
Lemonade Joe (1964)
The Good Soldier Schweik (1956)
Dagmar Kofroňová
Best movies:
The Devil's Trap (1961)
Do You Keep a Lion at Home? (1963)
Silvery Wind (1954)
Richard Záhorský
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
The Good Soldier Schweik (1956)
The Assassination (1964)
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (1961)
Viktor Očásek
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
Lemonade Joe (1964)
The Good Soldier Schweik (1956)
Happy End (1967)
Zlatomír Vacek
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
Těžká Barbora (1960) (theatrical recording)
The Devil's Trap (1961)
The Ballad on the Seven Hanged (1968) (TV movie)
František Nechyba
Austria-Hungary
Best movies:
The Devil's Trap (1961)
Marketa Lazarova (1967)
The Hero Is Afraid (1965)
Milan Kindl
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Happy End (1967)
Four Murders Are Enough, Darling (1970)
The Devil's Trap (1961)
Jiřina Bílá
Czechoslovakia
Best movies:
Marecek, Pass Me the Pen! (1976)
The Cremator (1968)
Men About Town (1969)