''Prawo i pięść'' ("The Law and the Fist") is a 1964 Polish post-war

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Jerzy Hoffman Jerzy Julian Hoffman (; born 15 March 1932) is a Polish director, screenwriter, and producer. He received the Polish Academy Life Achievement Award in February 2006. Hoffman is best known for his works in '' The Deluge'' (1974) and ''With Fire a ...

and Edward Skórzewski. Based on a 1964 novel of the same name (originally published as ''Toast'') by Józef Hen, the film achieved

cult status A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

in the history of Polish cinema.

Synopsis

Set in 1945, immediately after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, it tells the story of Andrzej Kenig, a former fighter of the Polish resistance and survivor of a

German concentration camp From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

. He is sent with a small group of men as government representatives to the fictional town of Siwowo/Graustadt in the so-called

Recovered Territories The Recovered Territories or Regained Lands ( pl, Ziemie Odzyskane), also known as Western Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Zachodnie), and previously as Western and Northern Territories ( pl, Ziemie Zachodnie i Północne), Postulated Territories ( pl, Z ...

, the new western territories of Poland. Their task is to secure the property left there by the retreating Germans. The small town is mostly abandoned and the only remaining inhabitants are four women and a drunken waiter at the hotel. Upon reaching the town, Kenig discovers that the other members of the government delegation are not who they claim to be, and that their only task is to loot as much of the property as they can for themselves. Kenig decides to fight against the gang of bandits alone, which leads to a shootout on the rooftops and in the streets of the deserted town.

Background

The motif of a lone hero fighting against a group of villains resulted in the film being described as a "Polish

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

". The film is also remembered for its original score, written by

Krzysztof Komeda Krzysztof Trzciński (27 April 1931 – 23 April 1969), known professionally as Krzysztof Komeda, was a Polish film music composer and jazz pianist. Perhaps best known for his work in film scores, Komeda wrote the scores for Roman Polanski’s f ...

, and especially the popular song ''Nim wstanie dzień'' ("before the day breaks"), with music by Komeda, lyrics by

Agnieszka Osiecka Agnieszka Osiecka (Polish pronunciation: ; 9 October 1936 – 7 March 1997) was a Polish poet, writer, author of theatre and television screenplays, film director and journalist. She was a prominent Polish songwriter, having authored the lyrics to ...

, and performed by

Edmund Fetting Edmund Andrzej Fetting (10 November 1927, in Warsaw, Poland – 30 January 2001 there) was a Polish film and theatrical actor and occasional singer. Fetting was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1980) and the Gold C ...

Cast and characters

Gustaw Holoubek Gustaw Teofil Holoubek (21 April 1923 – 6 March 2008) was a Polish actor, director, member of the Polish Sejm, and a senator. Holoubek participated in the September Campaign and was a prisoner of war during the Nazi German Occupation of P ...

as Andrzej Kenig *

Zofia Mrozowska Zofia Mrozowska (24 August 1922 – 19 August 1983) was a Polish film actress. She appeared in 20 films between 1947 and 1983. Selected filmography * ''Unvanquished City'' (1950) * ''A Woman's Decision'' (1975) * ''The Constant Factor ''T ...

as Anna * Hanna Skarzanka as Barbara Dubikowska *

Wiesław Gołas Wiesław Ryszard Gołas (Polish: vʲε.swav 'gɔ.was 9 October 1930 – 9 September 2021) was a Polish actor and Armia Krajowa soldier. He was cast in the role of Tomasz Czereśniak in ''Czterej pancerni i pies'' (Polish: ''Four tank men a ...

as Antoni Smólka *

Zdzisław Maklakiewicz Zdzisław Maklakiewicz (9 July 1927 in Warsaw – 9 October 1977) was a Polish actor. He was the nephew of composers Jan and Tadeusz Maklakiewicz. Biography During World War II, Maklakiewicz served in the Home Army. He took part in the Warsa ...

as Czesiek Wróbel *

Ryszard Pietruski Ryszard Pietruski (born 7 October 1922 in Wyszecino near Wejherowo, died 14 September 1996 in Warsaw) was a Polish theatre and film actor. Biography He spent his childhood and early days in Lviv. He was a student of the III State High School ...

as Wijas * Jerzy Przybylski as Doctor Mielecki *

Wiesława Kwaśniewska Wiesława Kwaśniewska (born 16 June 1933) is a Polish actress. She appeared in more than twenty films and television shows between 1951 and 1984. Selected filmography * '' How to Be Loved'' (1963) * ''Panienka z okienka ''Panienka z okienka ...

as Zoska *

Ewa Wiśniewska Ewa Maria Wiśniewska (born 25 April 1942) is a Polish actress. Her sister, Małgorzata Niemirska, is also an actress. Wiśniewska was awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta, one of Poland's highest Orders, and many other Orders, including Go ...

as Janka * Zbigniew Dobrzynski as Rudlowski * Józef Nowak as Lieutenant Wrzesinski * Adam Perzyk as Maitre d'hotel Schaffer

External links

* 1964 films 1960s Polish-language films 1964 drama films Polish black-and-white films Films directed by Jerzy Hoffman Films scored by Krzysztof Komeda Films set in 1945 {{Poland-film-stub