''Dinner for Adele'' () is a 1977 Czech parody comedy film directed by

Oldřich Lipský Oldřich Lipský (4 July 1924 – 19 October 1986) was a Czech film director and screenwriter. He focused exclusively on filming comedies and his work includes more than twenty films. Among his films with international success are '' Lemonade Joe' ...

. Alternative titles were ''Adele Hasn't Had Her Dinner Yet'', ''Nick Carter in Prague'' and ''Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet''. The film is set at the

fin de siècle "''Fin de siècle''" () is a French term meaning , a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom '' turn of the century'' and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without co ...

. American detective

Nick Carter Nickolas Gene Carter (born January 28, 1980) is an American singer, the lead vocalist of the vocal group Backstreet Boys, and an alleged rapist. As of 2015, he has released three solo albums, '' Now or Never'', '' I'm Taking Off'' and '' All A ...

is invited to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, in order to search for a missing dog. But Carter stumbles on a series of murders, as an evil

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

keeps feeding victims to his

carnivorous plant Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods, and occasionally small mammals and birds. They have adapted to grow in waterlo ...

Plot

It is the turn from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. Countess Thun asked the famous New York detective Nick Carter to travel to Prague, for assistance to solve the strange case of a missing dog. Carter is assisted by Prague police commissar Ledvina. Mysterious murder cases happen during the investigations, done by the malicious botanist Baron von Kratzmar and his

Adela. Von Kratzmar kidnapped his victims, bound them and whenever he played a

gramophone A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...

with the melody "

Schlafe, mein Prinzchen "Schlafe, mein Prinzchen, schlaf ein" ("Sleep, my little prince, fall asleep") is a German lullaby dating from the 18th century. History The words are by Friedrich Wilhelm Gotter. For many years, the common view was that the melody was composed by ...

" (a

lullaby A lullaby (), or a cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies, they are used to pass down cultural knowl ...

Bernhard Flies Bernhard Flies (born about 1770 in Berlin) was a German amateur composer and a doctor of medicine. Little is known about Flies. He composed some piano pieces and songs. He is best known for the romantic music to the lullaby '' Schlafe, mein Prin ...

but previously associated with

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

) it is the time for Adela to awaken and eat her victims for dinner. Baron von Kratzmar considered himself a misjudged genius and wanted to take revenge on one of his former professors. He called himself "the Gardener" a notorious criminal, who Nick Carter thought had died in the swamps years ago. With the help of bizarre inventions, Ledvina and Carter succeed in catching von Kratzmar and delivering him to the legal authorities.

Cast

Michal Dočolomanský Michal Dočolomanský (25 March 1942 in Niedzica – 26 August 2008 in Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth la ...

as Nick Carter *

Rudolf Hrušínský Rudolf Hrušínský (17 October 1920 – 13 April 1994) was a Czech actor. He was one of the most popular Czech actors. Many of his movies such as ''The Good Soldier Švejk'', '' The Cremator'' or '' Capricious Summer'' are considered classics of ...

as Commissar Josef Ledvina *

Miloš Kopecký Miloš Kopecký (22 August 1922 in Prague – 16 February 1996 in Prague) was a Czech actor, active mainly in the second half of the 20th century. Biography He was born into the family of a furrier; his mother was a hatter. From childhood ...

as Baron Ruppert von Kratzmar *

Ladislav Pešek Ladislav Pešek (4 October 1906 – 13 July 1986) was a Czechoslovak film actor.Naďa Konvalinková Naďa Konvalinková (''Naděžda Konvalinková''; born 18 April 1951 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech actress. After graduating from the Faculty of Theatre (Prague), Faculty of Theatre of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, she worked ...

as Květuška, Boček's granddaughter *

Václav Lohniský Václav Lohniský (5 November 1920 – 18 February 1980) was a Czech film actor. He appeared in 120 films and television shows between 1950 and 1980. Selected filmography * '' Případ dr. Kováře'' (1950) * '' September Nights'' (1957) * ...

as Kratzmar's butler *

Květa Fialová Květa Fialová (1 September 1929 – 26 September 2017) was a Czech actress. She was best known for her performance in ''Lemonade Joe ''Lemonade Joe, or the Horse Opera'' () is a 1964 Czechoslovak musical comedy film, directed by Oldřich Lip ...

as Countess Thun *

Olga Schoberová Olga Schoberová, also known as Olinka Bérová (born March 15, 1943), is a Czech actress. She acted in Czech, German, Italian, Austrian, Polish, English, and American movies. As "Olinka Berova", she appeared in '' The Vengeance of She'' (1968), ...

as Karin *

Martin Růžek Martin Růžek, born Erhard Martin (23 September 1918 – 18 December 1995) was a Czech actor. He starred in the film ''Poslední propadne peklu'' under director Ludvík Ráža in 1982. Personal life Růžek was born on 23 September 1918 in Če ...

as Police director Franz von Kaunitz *

Karel Effa Karel Effa (born Karel Effenberger; 23 May 1922 – 11 June 1993) was a Czechoslovak character actor who appeared in some 65 films. Selected filmography * ''Uloupená hranice'' (1947) - Závodcí * ''The Last of the Mohicans'' (1947) * ''Pa ...

as Criminal * František Němec as Nick Carter (voice) * Libuše Švormová as Karin (voice) *

Gene Deitch Eugene Merril Deitch (August 8, 1924 – April 16, 2020) was an American illustrator, animator, comics artist, and film director who was based in Prague from the 1960s until his death in 2020. Deitch was known for creating animated cartoons ...

as Larry Matejka (voice)

Production

The main character is a parody of the detective

from American

dime novels The dime novel is a form of late 19th-century and early 20th-century American popular fiction issued in series of inexpensive paperbound editions. The term ''dime novel'' has been used as a catchall term for several different but related form ...

. Most exterior scenes were shot around

, including Prague main railway station, Hotel Paris,

Hradčany Hradčany (; ), is the district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic surrounding Prague Castle. The castle is one of the biggest in the world at about in length and an average of about wide. Its history stretches back to the 9th century. St ...

Letná Park Letná Park () is a large park on Letná hill, built on a plateau above steep embankments along the Vltava River in Prague, Czech Republic. Letná's elevation and location afford commanding views of the Prague Old Town (''Staré Město''). "Le ...

and

Konopiště Konopiště Castle (; , ) is a four-winged, three-storey castle located in Konopiště, now a part of the town of Benešov in Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It has become famous as the last residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austr ...

. The carnivorous plant and animated sequences were created by Czech surrealist artist

Jan Švankmajer Jan Švankmajer (born 4 September 1934) is a Czech retired film director, animator, writer, playwright and artist. He draws and makes free graphics, collage, ceramics, tactile objects and asse ...

Reception

The film was positively received by both domestic and foreign critics.

Sheila Benson Sheila Benson (December 4, 1930February 23, 2022) was an American journalist and film critic. She served as film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1981 to 1991. Early life and education Benson was born in New York City on December 4, 193 ...

wrote in

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

: "This spoof on detective Nick Carter is crammed with invention, wit of the highest order, exquisite tongue-in-cheek performances and all the art noveau( ic) wonders in Prague." ''

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'' favorably compared Lipský to

Mel Brooks Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodie ...

Awards and nominations

*1980:

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...

for Best Foreign Film *1980: Saturn Award Nomination for Best Fantasy Film The film was also selected as the Czechoslovak entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the

51st Academy Awards The 51st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1978 and took place on April 9, 1979, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, beginning at 7:00 p.m ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

References

External links

Pictures from the film
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dinner For Adele 1977 films 1977 black comedy films 1970s parody films 1970s police comedy films Czechoslovak comedy films Czech comedy films 1970s Czech-language films Films about plants Films directed by Oldřich Lipský Films set in the 1900s Films set in Prague Films shot in Prague Nick Carter (character) Jan Švankmajer Films with screenplays by Jiří Brdečka Czech parody films Films about nobility Saturn Award–winning films