Dinner for Adele () is a 1977 Czech parody comedy film directed by Oldřich Lipský. Alternative titles were Adele Hasn't Had Her Dinner Yet, Nick Carter in Prague and Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet.
The film is set at the fin de siècle. American detective Nick Carter is invited to Prague,in order to search for a missing dog. But Carter stumbles on a series of murders, as an evil baron keeps feeding victims to his carnivorous plant.
Plot
It is the turn from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. Countess Thun asked the famous New York detective Nick Carter to travel to Prague, for assistance to solve the strange case of a missing dog. Carter is assisted by Prague police commissar Ledvina. Mysterious murder cases happen during the investigations, done by the malicious botanist Baron von Kratzmar and his carnivorous plant Adela.
Von Kratzmar kidnapped his victims, bound them and whenever he played a gramophone with the melody "Schlafe, mein Prinzchen" (a lullaby by Bernhard Flies but previously associated with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) it is the time for Adela to awaken and eat her victims for dinner.
Baron von Kratzmar considered himself a misjudged genius and wanted to take revenge on one of his former professors. He called himself "the Gardener" a notorious criminal, who Nick Carter thought had died in the swamps years ago. With the help of bizarre inventions, Ledvina and Carter succeed in catching von Kratzmar and delivering him to the legal authorities.
Cast
Michal Dočolomanský as Nick Carter
Rudolf Hrušínský as Commissar Josef Ledvina
Miloš Kopecký as Baron Ruppert von Kratzmar
Ladislav Pešek as Biology professor Albín Boček
Naďa Konvalinková as Květuška, Boček's granddaughter
Václav Lohniský as Kratzmar's butler
Květa Fialová as Countess Thun
Olga Schoberová as Karin
Martin Růžek as Police director Franz von Kaunitz
Karel Effa as Criminal
František Němec as Nick Carter (voice) Libuše Švormová as Karin (voice) Gene Deitch as Larry Matejka (voice)
Production
The main character is a parody of the detective Nick Carter from American dime novels. Most exterior scenes were shot around Prague, including Prague main railway station, Hotel Paris, Hradčany, Letná Park and Konopiště. The carnivorous plant and animated sequences were created by Czech surrealist artist Jan Švankmajer.
Reception
The film was positively received by both domestic and foreign critics. Sheila Benson wrote in Los Angeles Times: "This spoof on detective Nick Carter is crammed with invention, wit of the highest order, exquisite tongue-in-cheek performances and all the art noveau wonders in Prague." Seattle Times favorably compared Lipský to Mel Brooks.
Awards and nominations
1980: Saturn Award for Best Foreign Film
1980: Saturn Award Nomination for Best Fantasy Film
The film was also selected as the Czechoslovak entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 51st Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
See also
The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians
List of submissions to the 51st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
List of Czechoslovak submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
External links
Pictures from the film
1977 films
1977 black comedy films
1970s parody films
1970s police comedy films
Czechoslovak comedy films
Czech comedy films
1970s Czech-language films
Films about plants
Films directed by Oldřich Lipský
Films set in the 1900s
Films set in Prague
Films shot in Prague
Nick Carter (character) Jan Švankmajer Films with screenplays by Jiří Brdečka Czech parody films Films about nobility