Kateřina Klumparová

Fools among us

At the Ronov castle, the archive-keeper professor Nykl (Milos Nedbal) is searching for the lost painting The Naked Shepherdess by the famous Fragonard. Nykl is just about to disassemble the mantelpiece in the knight's hall, convinced that the painting must be hidden somewhere inside. His efforts, however, meet the strong disapproval of the castle manager, Anna Juzová (Jirina Petrovická), who knows very well where The Naked Shepherdess is. She wants to get hold of the painting herself, to emigrate and smuggle it along. In fact, Anna deals with forgeries of the most distinguished old masters, selling them abroad. The copies are made for her by the painter and restorer Maudr (Martin Ruzek) and the certificates of authenticity are issued by Anna's companion - expert Laburda (Karel Höger). One day, Anna is found murdered in front of the castle's fireplace.

The Ronov castle has been changed into a hotel, offering stylish facilities to its guests: weddings in the torture chamber, a Black Lancer kidnapping brides, a night's lodging in a family tomb etc. The reformed petty swindler Felix Pacínek (Bohumil Smída) runs the hotel. The business is far from thriving; the place is half-empty, and the jazz band Skeleton, together with their singer Zuzanka (Jaroslava Obermaierová), decide to leave. Nobody in the hotel has any idea that the band is in fact a gang of thieves who have just robbed the Prague State Bank, taking two million crowns from its vaults.

This lavish Soviet/Czech co-production is based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's famous novel, The Gambler, which tells the story of a Russian living in Germany, in a gambling resort. This film is set at the turn of the century, and was filmed in Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), Czechoslovakia. Played by Nikolai Burlyayev, the gambler succumbs completely to his addiction, using up every resource he has (human, spiritual and financial) in his wagering, finally becoming a rootless drifter.