One-Way Ticket

Detective mysteries appealed to prominent Czech author and screenwriter Vladimír Körner at the beginning of his career. Following his screenplay for Deváté jméno (The Ninth Name, 1963), he penned the script for crime story Místenka bez návratu (One-Way Ticket, 1964). Debuting director Dušan Klein received assistance from Miroslav Sobota in making the film and the script draws on the author’s own wartime experiences. The narrative turns on the discovery of a dead young woman on a train to Stuttgart. Her seat reservation bears the name of Marie Vláčilová. She was travelling to Germany to take the witness stand in the trial of a war criminal… The story goes back in time to present Marie’s previous life: she had been severely scarred by her internment in a concentration camp and by the effective loss of her daughter, sent to Germany for re-education. The motion picture's leading role is taken by Jiřina Šejbalová while the estranged daughter is played by Karla Chadimová. Actress Iva Janžurová, starting out in her career, appears in a cameo role as a girl in a post office.