Ninety Degrees in the Shade
| Ninety Degrees in the Shade | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Jiří Weiss |
| Written by | David Mercer Jiří Mucha Jiří Weiss |
| Produced by | Raymond Stross |
| Starring | James Booth Anne Heywood |
| Cinematography | Bedrich Batka |
| Edited by | Jan Chaloupek Russell Lloyd |
| Music by | Luděk Hulan |
| Distributed by | Unger Films (USA) |
Release date | 1965 |
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Countries | United Kingdom Czech Republic |
| Language | English |
Ninety Degrees in the Shade is a 1965 British-Czech drama film directed by Jiří Weiss.[1]
Plot
It's very hot, putting a strain on everyone. A beautiful woman works in a shop in Eastern Europe during the Communist era. She is in the late, disillusioned stages of an affair with a married man. Two government inspectors arrive to carry out an audit. The shop sells expensive alcoholic drinks. One inspector is relaxed, an old hand, but the other is a newcomer and meticulous. The heroine's boyfriend has stolen some bottles with her compliance. She manages to hide this from the meticulous inspector during the first day of the inspection. That night she and her boyfriend raise money and buy bottles to replace those he stole. That night also, we see the unhappy home life of the meticulous inspector - his alcoholic wife and lazy son. We are led to wonder if he has feelings for the heroine (the shop worker). On the second day of the inspection, the relaxed inspector of the pair drops a bottle and it breaks, leading to the discovery that almost all the bottles have had their contents stolen and are filled with tea. We (the viewers) wonder if the meticulous inspector will allow the heroine to go unpunished - his boss actually suggest that. The film ends with an ambiguous act by the heroine, her motives unclear. It's a sad story with a subtext of men subjugating women and another about immorality under Communist rule.
Cast
- James Booth.....Vorel
- Anne Heywood.....Alena
- Rudolf Hrusínský.....Mr. Kurka
- Ann Todd.....Mrs. Kurka
- Donald Wolfit.....Bazant
- Ladislav Potmesil.....Jirka Kurka
- Vera Tichánková.....Vavrova
- Jiřina Jirásková.....Vera
- Jorga Kotrbová.....Hanka
- Jan Libícek.....Man in Booth
Awards and nominations
Berlin International Film Festival
- Won, "UNICRIT Award" - Jirí Weiss
- Nominated, "Best English-Language Foreign Film"
References
External links
- Ninety Degrees in the Shade at IMDb
- Ninety Degrees in the Shade at AllMovie
- Ninety Degrees in the Shade at the TCM Movie Database
- The Digital Fix DVD review
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