Summary
In his feature-length film debut Místenka bez návratu (One-way Ticket, 1964), Dušan Klein showed his clear interest in the crime genre. Six years later, he confirmed he was pursuing this path by making the non-standard detective story Jeden z nich je vrah (One of Them is the Murderer, 1970), with the screenplay contributed by Václav Šašek. The protagonist is driver Karel Marek (Jiří Holý). After his release from prison, Marek searches for his former companions, whom he has shielded by taking a guilty verdict upon himself. Four other men had been instrumental in the smuggling of objects of art abroad. After catching up with the men, he shoots one of them in self-defence and blackmails the others, whilst plunging into desperation fomented by alcohol. Marek ends up murdered and, just like Inspector Hájek (Jiří Adamíra), viewers never learn who from among the suspects is the culprit... This drama about the elusiveness of guilt was well suited to the contemporary societal context, but it nevertheless belongs among the films audiences have forgotten.
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