Ninety Degrees in the Shade

Ninety Degrees in the Shade (Czech: Třicet jedna ve stínu) is a 1965 British-Czech drama film directed by Jiří Weiss.^[1][2] It was written by Weiss, David Mercer and Jiří Mucha.

Ninety Degrees in the Shade
Film poster
Directed by	Jiří Weiss
Written by	Jiří Weiss David Mercer Jiří Mucha
Produced by	Raymond Stross
Starring	James Booth Anne Heywood
Cinematography	Bedřich Baťka
Edited by	Jan Chaloupek Russell Lloyd
Music by	Luděk Hulan
Production companies	Filmové studio Barrandov Raymond Stross Productions
Distributed by	Unger Films (US)
Release date	1 October 1965 (1965-10-01) (Czechoslovakia)
Running time	78 minutes (Czech cut) 90 minutes (English cut)
Countries	United Kingdom Czech Republic
Languages	English Czech

It was one of a series of films producer Raymond Stross made starring wife Anne Heywood.^[3]

Plot

It's very hot, putting a strain on everyone. A beautiful woman works in a shop in Czechoslovakia 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. The film ends with an ambiguous act by the heroine, her motives unclear.

Cast

• James Booth as Milan Vorel
• Anne Heywood as Alena Burdová
• Rudolf Hrušínský as JUDr. Rudolf Kurka
• Ann Todd as Mrs. Kurková
• Donald Wolfit as Bažant
• Ladislav Potměšil as Jirka Kurka
• Jiřina Jirásková as Věra
• Vladimír Menšík as Emil, Věra's husband
• Jiří Sovák as Director
• Věra Tichánková as Marie Vávrová
• Otakar Brousek as Milan Vorel (Czech voice)
• Alena Kreuzmannová as Alena Burdová (Czech voice)
• Zdenka Procházková as Mrs. Kurková (Czech voice)
• Čestmír Řanda as Bažant (Czech voice)

Reception

Variety wrote that the film: "has has quality, mainly because of the shrewd and observant direction by Jiri Weiss, who is probably the most internationally known and respected of all Czech directors. It is largely thanks to this thoughtful direction that the film does not wind up as a trite, cliche-ridden piece of celluloid, but as a meaningful drama, in which emotion plays a larger role than reason in the life of a young and attractive woman. In less competent hands, this might well have been just a novelettish yarn, though some recognition is also due to David Mercer's sensitive seript."^[4]

Awards and nominations

Berlin International Film Festival: Won, "UNICRIT Award" – Jiří Weiss.^{[citation needed]}

Golden Globe Award: Nominated, "Best English-Language Foreign Film".^[5]