''The Incredibly Sad Princess'' (Czech title: ''Šíleně smutná princezna'') is a 1968

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

film starring

Helena Vondráčková Helena Vondráčková (born 24 June 1947, in Prague) is a Czech people, Czech singer and actress whose prolific career as a performer has spanned more than six decades, earning her acclaim both domestically and internationally. Recognized for h ...

and

Václav Neckář Václav Neckář (born 23 October 1943 in Prague) is a Czech singer and actor. He is best known for his performance as Miloš Hrma in '' Closely Watched Trains''. Between 1978 and 1979 he cooperated with Polish singer Anna Jantar during their per ...

. It was directed by

Bořivoj Zeman Bořivoj Zeman (6 March 1912 – 23 December 1991) was a Czechs, Czech film director and screenwriter. Biography Originally a clerk by profession, he started by writing short film scripts just for himself. His real film work began in 1940's in Ho ...

. The film also starred Jaroslav Marvan and

Josef Kemr Josef Kemr (20 June 1922 – 15 January 1995) was a Czech actor. He starred in the 1969/1970 film ''Witchhammer'' under director Otakar Vávra. Selected filmography *''Lízin let do nebe'' (1937) - Jula Plichta *''Škola základ života'' (1 ...

. Songs in the movie were composed by

Jan Hammer Jan Hammer () (born 17 April 1948) is a Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer. He rose to prominence while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the early 1970s, as well as with his film scores for television an ...

. It was televised in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

as ''The Madly Sad Princess'' with

Gary Watson Garrowby Watson (born 13 June 1930), known professionally as Gary Watson, is a retired British actor. Early in his career he appeared in Friedrich Hebbel's 1962 play ''Judith'' at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, with Sean Connery. He made mo ...

voicing a narration over the original Czech dialogue; like many such series it was brought in by Peggy Miller.BBC Genome website - ''Radio Times'' listings
/ref>

Plot

Prince Václav goes with his father on an engagement to a neighbouring "merry" kingdom, but he does not want to get married at all. His father, the king, promised to marry him off to Princess Helena as part of a peace agreement with the neighbouring kingdom. So Prince Václav, on the pretext of going to the bathroom, escapes from the royal carriage and rides a borrowed cow to see the princess on his own. He secretly enters the princess's castle garden, climbs a tree to get a better view of the princess's chambers, falls into a pond, and in the process unwittingly meets Princess Helena. He is then caught by the castle guards and imprisoned. The king lies for the sake of the neighbouring king, making excuses and feeling ashamed of the prince who has escaped. He says his son is ill. Gradually he becomes entangled in his lies. But the princess falls in love with the unknown prisoner, unaware that he is Prince Václav, her future fiancé. In order to cancel her expected engagement to a prince she does not yet know, she feigns sadness and declares that she will only marry a man who makes her laugh. Coincidentally, without his knowing it, Prince Václav succeeds. His incognito is thus revealed, however, and Princess Helena is briefly offended by this and has Václav imprisoned again and formally sentenced to execution - but in fact he is never executed in the "merry" kingdom. Two royal advisors, Y and X, announce that the prince and princess do not want each other. Eventually, the two kings are told that Prince Wenceslas is in prison and that means there will be war. Two generals, namely former advisors X and Y, take command of both armies. The prince and princess immediately reconcile and capture the two generals in the night, ending the war. The film ends with Prince Václav handing over control of both kingdoms and getting married. The treacherous generals and counsellors X and Y are punished as they deserve.

Cast

as Princess Helena *

as Prince Václav *

Bohuš Záhorský Bohumil "Bohuš" Záhorský (5 February 1906 – 22 September 1980) was a Czechoslovak actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1932 to 1980. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zahorsky, Bohus ...

as King Dobromysl *

Jaroslav Marvan Jaroslav Marvan (11 December 1901 – 21 May 1974) was a Czech actor. He was born in Prague. He was married since the 1920s with Marie Marvanová and had a daughter (Alena Marvanová) with Alena Jančaříková. He passed his school-leaving ...

as King Jindřich *

as X * Darek Vostřel as Y * František Dibarbora as Executioner * Oldřich Dědek as Kokoška *

Stella Zázvorková Stella Zázvorková (14 April 1922 – 18 May 2005) was a Czech actress from Prague. Zázvorková, an alumnus of Prague's theatre school of E.F. Burian, appeared in more than a hundred films and series. She was married to the actor Milo� ...

as Nanny *Branislav Koreň as Janek

References

External links

* 1968 films Czechoslovak fantasy films 1960s Czech-language films Czech fantasy films 1960s fantasy films Films based on fairy tales 1960s Czech films {{1960s-CzechRepublic-film-stub