Summary
Although primarily a television director, Stanislav Strnad nonetheless made several feature films, including Můj brácha má prima bráchu (My Brother Has a Marvellous Brother, 1975) and its sequel Brácha za všechny peníze (What a Brother I Have, 1978). In 1979, Strnad directed the “normalisation” era comedy Poprask na silnici E4. The protagonists of this unusual road movie – tagged as one of the era's “building a better future” productions – are three employees of a brickworks in Čičenice, who decide to head out to Turnov to acquire a new locomotive. But their journey across Prague in search of an important invoice is unexpectedly delayed and complicated by certain events, including an inventory taking place in the Čičenice brickworks. Two popular actors of the day take the lead roles in this light-hearted tale: experienced engine driver Kudrna is played by Josef Bláha and the nimble Karel Kaplan is played by Jiří Štěpnička. Petr Svoboda (popular on Czech Television for his portrayal of fairytale princes) rounds out the trio as Šinták.
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