Chintamani Carpet and a Swindler

In 1958, director Jiří Krejčík took part in a story-based film O věcech nadpřirozených (Of Things Supernatural). He returned to a work by Karel Čapek six years later in the film Čintamani & podvodník (The Chintamani Carpet and a Swindler), comprising two short stories from the author’s collection, Povídky z druhé kapsy (Tales from the Other Pocket). In the first, called Čintamani a ptáci (The Chintamani Carpet and Birds), Vitásek, a passionate collector, tries in vain to obtain a valuable rug. In the second, Příběhy sňatkového podvodníka (Tales of a Trickster), a criminal wanted by the police turns out to be a sympathetic rogue with his own intransigent moral code. Both stories, for which Krejčík co-wrote the screenplays, touch upon the relativism of peoples’ attitudes and relationships. The star-studded casting, with Vladimír Šmeral, Jiří Sovák and František Filipovský in the lead roles, increases the attractiveness of the film.