''Marecek, Pass Me the Pen!'' ( cs, Marečku, podejte mi pero!) is a 1976 Czechoslovak comedy film directed by

Oldřich Lipský Oldřich Lipský (4 July 1924 – 19 October 1986) was a Czech film director and screenwriter, brother of actor Lubomír Lipský. All his films were comedies, frequently employing themes of Dadaism, farce and magical realism. He was a frequent c ...

. The film gained de facto cult status, many of its phrases and sentences becoming idiomatic in Czech language, e.g. “–Jak to chodí? –Chodí to výborně, ale neseje to” (“–How does it work? –It works great, but it doesn't sow.”) about a sowing machine.

Plot

Jiří Kroupa (

Jiří Sovák Jiří Sovák ('' né'' Schmitzer; 27 December 1920 – 6 September 2000) was a Czech actor, best known for his comedy roles. Life and theatre career Jiří Sovák was born Jiří Schmitzer to the family of an innkeeper in Prague.Jiří Sovák, ...

) is a man in his forties who is a team leader in a factory manufacturing agricultural machinery. He has an opportunity for promotion, but for that he needs to obtain a highschool graduation diploma. Kroupa resists vehemently, but is finally persuaded to enroll in the evening classes at a highschool where he is joined by a motley group of men and women of the same age group. Having found themselves in school again, the middle-aged Kroupa and his fellow students soon start acting like teenagers and with this and the teachers who find themselves instructing people their senior in the evenings and their children during the day, situation quickly gets out of hand. Geographical mentions: The movie often refers to a region Bohemian-Moravian highland. Plha is from Kojčice - a small village near Pelhřimov (district town). Another famous fictitious person - which is mentioned many times - but never appears in the film is Hliník (alluminium - Al). He never starts school as he moved to Humpolec - a bigger town in the same region as the above-mentioned. Quite a number of comical situations are based on Hliník name's similarity to the metal aluminium. The phrase "Hliník moved to Humpolec" became very popular and led to the creation of Hliník's museum and memorial plaque to the most famous citizen of Humpolec. People often bring aluminium subjects to his memorial plaque.

Cast

- Jiří Kroupa *

Iva Janžurová Iva Janžurová (born 19 May 1941) is a Czech actress. She attended school in České Budějovice and in 1963, she graduated from the Faculty of Theatre at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. In 1964, she became the main member of Vinohra ...

- Týfová *

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) * ...

- Hujer *

Míla Myslíková Bohumila "Míla" Myslíková (14 February 1933 – 11 February 2005) was a Czech actress. She appeared in over 90 films and television shows between 1954 and 1993. She starred in the 1974 film '' Kdo hledá zlaté dno'', which was entered i ...

- Kroupová *

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'' ( ...

- Plha *

Ladislav Smoljak Ladislav Smoljak (9 December 1931 – 6 June 2010) was a Czechs, Czech film and theater director, actor and screenwriter. He was born in Prague. Smoljak tried to study at an art academy but failed the admission process. He went on to study phys ...

- Tuček *

Zdeněk Svěrák Zdeněk Svěrák (born 28 March 1936) is a Czech actor, humorist, playwright and scriptwriter, and one of the most well-known and popular Czech cultural personalities. Since 1968 he has appeared in 32 films. Career In 1958, he graduated in Czec ...

- Šlajs * František Kovařík - Prof. Hrbolek *

Josef Abrhám Josef Abrhám (14 December 1939 – 16 May 2022) was a Czech film and theatre actor. Biography He originally began studying acting at Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava and later moved to Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts i ...

- Teacher Čeněk Janda *

Jiří Schmitzer Jiří Schmitzer (born 25 October 1949) is a Czech actor and musician, the son of actor Jiří Sovák. He is a four-time holder of the Czech Lion Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Biography Career Schmitzer graduated from the Theatre Facu ...

- Jiří Kroupa jr.

External links

* 1976 comedy films 1976 films Czechoslovak comedy films Films directed by Oldřich Lipský Czech comedy films Films with screenplays by Zdeněk Svěrák 1970s Czech films {{1970s-comedy-film-stub