Czlowiek na torze (1957)

In 1950, at night, a passenger train kills a man on the tracks. He is Orzechowski, an engineer since 1914. An inquiry immediately follows. Testimony takes the form of flashbacks. Tuszka, ... See full summary »

Director:

Andrzej Munk

Writers:

Andrzej Munk, Jerzy Stefan Stawinski (screenplay),

Stars:

Kazimierz Opalinski, Zygmunt Maciejewski, Zygmunt Zintel

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Kazimierz Opalinski	...	Wladyslaw Orzechowski
Zygmunt Maciejewski	...	Station-Master Tuszka
Zygmunt Zintel	...	Witold Salata
Zygmunt Listkiewicz	...	Stanislaw Zapora
Roman Klosowski	...	Marek Nowak
Kazimierz Fabisiak	...	Konarski
Ludoslaw Kozlowski	...	Karas
Janusz Bylczynski	...	Warda
Stanislaw Marecki	...	(as Stanislaw Marzec-Marecki)
Józef Para	...	Railwayman
Stanislaw Jaworski	...	Franek
Celina Klimczakówna	...	Zofia Salata (as Alina Klimczak)
Natalia Szymanska	...	Orzechowska
Józef Nowak	...	Jankowski
Janusz Paluszkiewicz	...	Krokus

Storyline

In 1950, at night, a passenger train kills a man on the tracks. He is Orzechowski, an engineer since 1914. An inquiry immediately follows. Testimony takes the form of flashbacks. Tuszka, the station master, believes Orzechowski was a saboteur; at least one on the inquiry panel agrees. Zapora, the young engineer on the train that hit Orzechowski, gives more complicated testimony about the dead man - stiff-necked, proud, imperious, critical of Zapora and other younger workers. The signalman at the crossing where Orzechowski died also testifies. Can the panel arrive at the truth in a world where workers unite, inferior coal is a badge of honor, and the old order is suspect?

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Plot Keywords:

train

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Release Date:

17 January 1957 (Poland)

Also Known As:

Man on the Tracks

Filming Locations:

Warszawa Wschodnia Station, Praga Pólnoc, Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zespól Filmowy "Kadr"

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Goofs

In station-master's flashback that is said to take place 'before World War 2', he is a conductor on a steam locomotive Pt47 introduced in 1947.

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Connections

Featured in The Lesson of Polish Cinema (2002)

User Reviews

A Polish Train Death Mystery

This film opens with a gorgeous black and white shot of a train at night journeying to some destination until it is forced to stop because it has hit a man on the tracks. From this point, our story proceeds to unravel the mystery with an ingenious method of telling the story backwards. Different characters who had a relationship with the dead man during his life take part in the investigation of his death and they relate their involvement with the dead man.

A fascinating character study and mystery all at the same time. The cinematography is excellent, as good as it gets in black and white. The script is ingenious and the acting is uniformly superb. I am sorry that some enterprising movie company has not seen fit to offer this wonderful film on video. Munk was clearly a great story teller and it is a shame he did not live long enough to create many more great films. This is a masterpiece.