Directed by:
Otakar VávraCinematography:
Jan RothCast:
Zdeněk Štěpánek, Ladislav Pešek, Václav Vydra st., Helena Friedlová, František Smolík, Jiřina Šejbalová, Theodor Pištěk, Antonie Nedošinská, Elena Hálková (more)Plots(1)
In 1590 Kutná Hora is a wealthy and important town. Silver is mined, coins are minted, and the town is the seat of the chief master of the mint. But the lust for wealth has lured many foreigners and crooks to the town. Their swindling has lowered revenues from the mines and it is the miners who bear the burden of economising measures. When miner Jakub protests against this in public, he is arrested and condemned to death. Knight Mikuláš Dačický then arrives in the town, a cultivated man and poet but also a great profligate and lover of beautiful women. The alchemist Wolfram persuades the aldermen to give him money in return for a promise to produce a great quantity of silver. Mikuláš urges the honourable citizens to expell the swindling thieves and aliens. The aldermen, concerned for the virtue of their wives and daughters, take advantage of this and accuse Mikuláš of witchcraft. Emperor Rudolf II, who judges the case, takes kindly to Mikuláš and grants him safe-conduct out of Prague. Mikuláš returns to Kutná Hora just in time to save Jakub's life and to expose Wolfram as a trickster who was trying to sneak away with the aldermen's money. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (3)
It's not as pithy as the later The Respectable Ladies of Pardubice. But Adina’s cleavage! :) Other notable observations include the fact that the Guild is so overflowing with acting aces that even the much-celebrated Happy Journey pales beside it.
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What makes The Guild of Kutna Hora Virgins a great experience are the unique acting performance by Zdeněk Štěpánek, whose Mikuláš Dačický would make many a contemporary bohemian pale in comparison. But the rest of the cast is also sensational (once Theodor Pištěk and Antonie Nedošínská play the spouses, the fun is taken care of. Then add the beautifully obtuse František Smolík, the weathered Adina Mandlová or Jaroslav Vojta, who does nothing but drink), and the script is fortunately funny rather than satirical, and the costumes and sets look beautiful. I don't have any problems with it.
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A film that is interesting not only because it's a successful comedy but also because, from a historical perspective, it's well-crafted and skillfully executed, giving you the genuine feeling of being transported to an entirely different era. Otakar Vávra clearly had a flair for different genres, which he demonstrated here in a nice, entertaining, yet socially critical way.
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Gallery (6)
Photo © Lucernafilm
![The Merry Wives - Photos - Antonie Nedošinská, František Smolík, Jiřina Šejbalová, Zdeněk Štěpánek, Anna Steimarová](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/000/187/187932_71886e.jpg)
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