Ninety Degrees in the Shade

Ninety Degrees in the Shade
Directed byJiří Weiss
Written by
Produced byRaymond Stross
Starring
CinematographyBedřich Baťka
Edited by
Music byLuděk Hulan
Production
companies
  • Filmové studio Barrandov
  • Raymond Stross Productions
Distributed byUnger Films (US)
Release date
  • 1 October 1965 (1965-10-01) (Czechoslovakia)
Running time
  • 78 minutes (Czech cut)
  • 90 minutes (English cut)
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • Czech Republic
Languages
  • English
  • Czech

Ninety Degrees in the Shade (Czech: Třicet jedna ve stínu) is a 1965 British-Czech drama film directed by Jiří Weiss.[1]

Plot

It's very hot, putting a strain on everyone. A beautiful woman works in a shop in Czechoslovakia during the Communist era. She is in the late, disillusioned stages of an affair with a married man. Two government inspectors arrive to carry out an audit. The shop sells expensive alcoholic drinks. One inspector is relaxed, an old hand, but the other is a newcomer and meticulous. The heroine's boyfriend has stolen some bottles with her compliance. She manages to hide this from the meticulous inspector during the first day of the inspection. That night she and her boyfriend raise money and buy bottles to replace those he stole. That night also, we see the unhappy home life of the meticulous inspector - his alcoholic wife and lazy son. We are led to wonder if he has feelings for the heroine (the shop worker). On the second day of the inspection, the relaxed inspector of the pair drops a bottle and it breaks, leading to the discovery that almost all the bottles have had their contents stolen and are filled with tea. The film ends with an ambiguous act by the heroine, her motives unclear.

Cast

Awards and nominations

Berlin International Film Festival

  • Won, "UNICRIT Award" - Jiří Weiss

Golden Globe Award

  • Nominated, "Best English-Language Foreign Film"

References