A Life at Stake (1956)
The year is 1941 and the German Nazis rule Bohemia with a free hand. Engineer Otakar Racek is an extremely cautious man who tries to avoid problems at all costs. While some of his colleagues are being arrested by the Gestapo, he receives an offer to become the director of a new department. When he refuses to help the wife of an arrested resistance fighter, his wife Vlasta is shaken. However, she loves him, to the point of even resigning herself to the hatred of Otakar's wealthy mother. One day, Vlasta lets her old acquaintance Ondřej Rýdl, who is on the run from the Gestapo, stay at her house for a few days. The wife passes him off to her husband as a distant relative. However, Otakar succumbs to jealousy and, on his mother's advice, hires a private detective to follow Vlasta. However, the detective is also a Gestapo informant and receives a hefty reward for every arrested resistance fighter...
Cast
- Karel Höger - Engineer Otakar Racek
- Vlasta Chramostová - Vlasta, Racek's wife
- Jaroslav Someš - Bedřich, the eldest son of the Raceks
- Jaroslav Drahan - Mirek, the younger son of the Raceks
- Zdeněk Dítě - resistance fighter Ondřej Rýdl
- Soňa Neumannová - Racková, Otakar's mother
- Otomar Krejča - Deputy Rudolf Kadera
- František Holar - Gestapo
- Jindřich Narenta - Gestapo
- Stanislav Neumann - doorman Dobeš
Screenplay
- Karel Josef Beneš (Novel)
- Karel Josef Beneš (Screenplay)
- Jiří Weiss (Screenplay)
- František Daniel (Creative Producer)
Keywords
based on novel or book, world war ii
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is A Life at Stake about?
- The year is 1941 and the German Nazis rule Bohemia with a free hand. Engineer Otakar Racek is an extremely cautious man who tries to avoid problems at all costs. While some of his colleagues are being arrested by the Gestapo, he receives an offer to become the director of a new department. When he refuses to help the wife of an arrested resistance fighter, his wife Vlasta is shaken. However, she loves him, to the point of even resigning herself to the hatred of Otakar's wealthy mother. One day, Vlasta lets her old acquaintance Ondřej Rýdl, who is on the run from the Gestapo, stay at her house for a few days. The wife passes him off to her husband as a distant relative. However, Otakar succumbs to jealousy and, on his mother's advice, hires a private detective to follow Vlasta. However, the detective is also a Gestapo informant and receives a hefty reward for every arrested resistance fighter...
- Who directed A Life at Stake?
- A Life at Stake was directed by Jiří Weiss.
- Who stars in A Life at Stake?
- A Life at Stake stars Karel Höger, Vlasta Chramostová, Jaroslav Someš, Jaroslav Drahan, Zdeněk Dítě, Soňa Neumannová.
- How long is A Life at Stake?
- A Life at Stake has a runtime of 1h 41m (101 minutes).
- What genre is A Life at Stake?
- A Life at Stake is a Drama film.
- Where was A Life at Stake produced?
- A Life at Stake was produced in Czechoslovakia.