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Cast
Karel Höger
as Engineer Otakar Racek
Vlasta Chramostová
as Vlasta, Racek's wife
Jaroslav Someš
as Bedřich, the eldest son of the Raceks
Jaroslav Drahan
as Mirek, the younger son of the Raceks
Zdeněk Dítě
as resistance fighter Ondřej Rýdl
Soňa Neumannová
as Racková, Otakar's mother
Otomar Krejča
as Deputy Rudolf Kadera
František Holar
as Gestapo
Jindřich Narenta
as Gestapo
Stanislav Neumann
as doorman Dobeš
Movie Info & Details
Release Year1956
Runtime1h 41m
LanguageCzech
CertificationNR
GenresDrama
Votes3
DirectorJiří Weiss
WritersJiří Weiss, Karel Josef Beneš
TypeFeature Film
Rating6.2 out of 10
Cast10 credited
Also Known AsA Life at Stake
About A Life at Stake
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...
Directed by Jiří Weiss, A Life at Stake leans on a strong ensemble — Karel Höger, Vlasta Chramostová, Jaroslav Someš — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1956.
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