Set in Prague, during World War II, the film follows the life of a crematorium manager named Karl, who becomes increasingly delusional and embraces his Nazi collaborationist beliefs. As he descends into madness, the line between reality and imagination blurs, leading to a series of surreal and darkly comedic events.
This time the detectives deal with the case of a murdered professor. One day a cleaning woman finds him shot to death in his own study. The detectives will thus investigate whether the murder is connected with the victim's persistent effort for the removal of the University's quaestor because of the latter's strange machinations during the reconstruction of the University building. And they'll also want to know why the murderer took the great risk involved in killing the victim on the university soil. The search for the answer to the question who could wish the death of the peculiar but honest professor will take them farther than they have expected.
Three short story omnibus. The main hero and connecting link is Lieutenant Boruvka, created by Lubomír Lipsky. He deals with the murder case between climbers, the death of the dancer in the music theater and the strange disappearance of the mathematics professor.
In early 20th century Czechoslovakia, a gravely ill chemist recalls his discovery of a powerful explosive and how it landed in the hands of anarchists.
An escort composed of three people transports a huge amount of new one-hundred crown banknotes in a special railway car. At the 196th kilometer, a village girl is waiting at the railway crossing and spots two men removing some packages from the track. The scene is immediately followed by the report of a gun and the unwanted witness is shot dead. Soon afterwards, on the 201st kilometer, the train explodes. Only one of the escorts Lenk (Radoslav Brzobohatý) survives the explosion, taken to hospital with serious injuries. Criminologist Major Kalas (Jirí Sovák) and the very young Second Lieutenant Karlícek (Jaromír Hanzlík) patiently gather facts, leads and testimonies.
In Dissolved and Effused, a rich man goes missing, leading to a murder investigation. As the story unfolds, it is revealed that his rival businessman may be involved. The investigation takes a humorous turn, with plenty of parody and double entendre. The plot also explores themes of wealth, rivalry, and the manipulative nature of some individuals. The story includes scenes set in a duck farm, a psychiatric hospital, and a bathtub.
In this 1957 movie, a mysterious man gets involved in a secret mission as a Soviet spy. He poses as a psychiatrist and faces various challenges as he navigates the world of espionage. Set in Europe, this film is an adaptation of Czech crime literature and showcases the intricacies of the spy world.
Based on the only extensive prose work by the surrealist painter Josef Capek, Shades of Fern most resembles the philosophical fairy tales and fables of Josef’s older brother, the legendary Czech novelist and playwright Karel Capek. Two young poachers, more boys than men, kill a gamekeeper when they are caught illegally hunting. Panicked, they retreat into a forest that grows steadily more forbidding and deadly as their fear for the future—and guilt over their action—mounts. Loosely based on hundreds of oral folk tales and legends that haunt the woods of Czechoslovakia, Vlácil’s contemporary updating artistically underscores the relationship between man and nature, crime and punishment, isolation and society, and guilt and memory.
In Vražda v hotelu Excelsior, the interwar period homicide detective squad from Prague investigates the murder of a wealthy woman, Mrs Matoušová, which threatens the reputation of the eponymous luxury hotel popular with Prague’s elite. Even the retired police inspector Mrázek (František Filipovský), who works at the Excelsior as a hotel detective, is unable to help at first. Although the investigation inevitably uncovers the hotel staff’s scheming, Vacátko and his team unerringly follow the trail that leads them to the murderer…
Inspector Cadek from the 13th police station should keep an eye on the released safe-cracker nicknamed The Cat. He rightly suspects that Cat will go and pick up his last loot which the police didn't manage to find and that he will want revenge on Karta who helped get him behind bars. At the hospital, Cat's ex-lover Fróny hopelessly falls for doctor Chrudimský and decides to start a new life. She still refuses to help the inspector in his search for The Cat and Karta.