Death on the Black Market

This attempt at a crime feature set around the post-war black market was filmed in 1976 by director Ivo Toman. A duo of thieves robs a secret warehouse operated by the merchant Čačala, but are then forced to rid themselves of the loot. Inspector Koutouč, a former professor of commodity sciences, is hot on Čačala´s trail. The thieves try to blackmail their merchant victim, but the relentless Kotouč decides to expose the profiteer – and with him the right-wing politicians conspiring to thwart the inevitable victory of the communist left. This tendentious and ponderous feature benefits from a strong cast. Vlastimil Brodský plays the part of Kotouč; Slávka Budínová stars as the lover of one of the thieves. Josef Langmiler once again displays his talents for embodying dapper, sleazy villains, in this case playing trade ministry section chief Jůzl.