Kdo chce zabít Jessii? (1966)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Václav Vorlícek

Writers:

Milos Macourek (story)
Václav Vorlícek (story)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

"What if someone had an absurd dream and the visions ran out in the street?" a scientist asks Rose,...

Plot Keywords:

Dream | Cowboy | Scientist | Glove | Female Scientist

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Dana Medrická	...	Doc. Ruzenka Beránková
Jirí Sovák	...	Doc. Jindrich Beránek
Olga Schoberová	...	Jessie
Juraj Visny	...	Superman
Karel Effa	...	Pistolník
Vladimír Mensík	...	Kolbaba
Karel Houska	...	Kolega
Ilja Racek	...	Colleague
Walter Taub	...	Profesor (as Valtr Taub)
Bedrich Prokos	...	Dustolny pán
Cestmír Randa	...	Prokutor
Otto Simánek	...	Zástupce doc. beránkové
Svatopluk Skládal	...	Obhájce
Frantisek Holar	...	Reditel
Jan Libícek	...	Prison Guard

Also Known As:

Who Killed Jessie? (International: English title)
Who Wants to Kill Jessie? (USA)
Who Would Kill Jessie? (UK)

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

Czechoslovakia

Language:

Czech

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Ceskoslovenský Státní Film

Trivia:

American remake of this film was discussed with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine in the roles of Jirí Sovák and Dana Medrická. Juraj Visny, Karel Effa and Olga Schoberová who played Superman, the gunfighter and Jessie in the original version were asked to repeat their roles. The project broke down after the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968.

A lot of things, but not very anything.

What a weird little movie! Basic premise: there are two married inventors, Jindrich and Ruzenka. Jindrich is mild-mannered and seemingly a bit incompetent; Ruzenka is brilliant and domineering. (As you can probably imagine, their home life is the occasion for a number of gender role-reversal jokes.) Through a series of misunderstandings that I won't give away here, one of Ruzenka's inventions backfires and brings three comic book characters to life out of one of Jindrich's dreams -- a superheroine named Jessie and her two nemeses, a Wild West gunslinger and an evil Superman (!). The result: wild destruction, police chases, mistaken identity, potshots at government bureaucrats, and by the end, two new romantic pairings. Sounds great, right? Well, it's pretty good, but I can't help feeling like something is missing. "Who Wants to Kill Jessie?" is a lot of things, but it's not *very* anything. It's manic, but not nearly as manic as another movie about cartoons in the real world, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" It's visually creative, but not nearly as visually creative as another goofy Czech movie from 1966, "Daisies." Jessie herself is charming, but not nearly as charming as, say, Anna Karina. I guess I was just hoping for something more outrageous -- I know I'll get about 30 "unhelpful" votes for saying this, but something more like "Tank Girl." Still, you've got to love characters who only talk in speech bubbles.