Thursday, August 6, 2015

Dobrodruzství kriminalistiky: Modus Operandi (TV)



Dobrodruzství kriminalistiky: Modus Operandi – Czechoslovakian title

A 1989-1993 Czechoslovakian, German television co-production [Krátkým filmem Praha, Göfis (Prague), Schwarzwald Film (Berlin)]
Producer: Jan Milič
Director: Antonín Moskalyk
Story: Jan Šikl
Teleplay: Jan Šikl
Photography: Juraj Šajmovič
Music: Karel Svoboda
Running time: 26 episodes x 50 minutes

Season 1, Episode 4
Dobrodruzství kriminalistiky: Otisk (TV) – 1989 [The Fingerprint]

Story: farmer who was in debt with the banker is accused of the crime, although direct evidence is circumstantial. The brother of the accused, however, believes in his innocence and hires a private detective service. And it's fingerprints, which ultimately convicts the true perpetrators. Innovative methods - fingerprinting - finds its place in American justice.

Cast:
Dergeant Faurot - Petr Kostka
Detective Martens - Miroslav Moravec
Sheriff - Radoslav Brzobohatý          
John Haycock - Josef Somr
Banker Lofter - Dusan Blaskovic
Banker Webster - Sobeslav Sejk
Steve - Pavel Zednícek
Barman McGregor - Martin Semmelrogge
Farmer McGregor - Zdenek Mucha
Trainer Nelson - Jirí Bartoska
Judge - Otakar Brousek
Sheriff’s assistant - Václav Vydra
with: Zdenek Srstka*

Season 2, Episode 3 Modus Operandi
Story: The story takes place in America in the late 19th century where the perpetrators of a robbery at a jewelry store are convicted by their distinctive, individual way of working.  Two robbers do in an American jeweler.

Cast:
Inspector Thomas Byrnes - Miloš Vávra
Hummel - Pavel Rímský
Bano Emerson - Ivan Vyskočil
Gus Spanker - Lubomír Kostelka
Kenneth - Ladislav Lakomý
Mayor - Bohumil Švarc
Detective O’Connell - Ladislav Županič
Jannie - Naďa Konvalinková (Nadezda Konvalinková)
Merreth - Tomáš Jirman
Hotel owner - Jana Andresíková
Mrs. Donald - Marie Marešová
With: Pavel Bejček, Miroslav Hanuš, Jindřich Hrdý, Vítězslav Jirsák, Jiří Suchý, Jana Šedová (Gertruda Skallova)

Season 3, Episode 1
Dobrodruzství kriminalistiky: Pinkertonova detektivní agentura (TV) 1991 [Pinkerton Detective Agency]

Story: Irish immigrant Allan Pinkerton, founder of the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency. Born as the son of an Irish police officer, trained as iceman and left Ireland to live in America. Pinkerton becomes involved in the fraud of horse race. For accurate identification of the horses he has them photographed.

Allan Pinkerton - Hellmut Lange [as Helmut Lange]
Elish Harvey - Ladislav Mrkvicka
Ronnie - Matej Hádek
Lucas - Radoslav Brzobohatý
Sheriff Tucker - Frantisek Svihlík
Cooker - Zdenek Mucha
Morton - Frantisek Michalek
Cohen - Jindrich Khain
Bailiff - Miroslav Táborský



The story takes place in America in the late 19th century where the perpetrators of a robbery at a jewelry store are convicted by their distinctive, individual way of working.  Two robbers do in an American jeweler. The jeweler is psychologically destroyed and Inspector Thomas Byrnes knows he will have a pile of work to find the robbers. Millionaire Milton has stolen the jewelry with acompletely original theory that the inspector shall communicate: "All the burglaries were done by hungry paupers from the Bowery on jewelry workshops and are organized systematically and serve one person." Is Mr. Milton right?  That we learn in the story entitled "Modus operandi", which means the individual way criminals work.  And according to him, Inspector Byrnes was able to uncover the thief and the term is enshrined in the history of criminology.

Modus Operandi was the third episode of ‘Dobrodružství  kriminalistiky’ (Adventure of Criminalistics) season 2. This was the 11th episode of the television series ‘Dobrodružství  kriminalistiky’ (Adventure of Criminalistics). The Czechoslovakian TV series follow the pioneers of criminalistics across four centuries, where viewers were a witness to groundbreaking discoveries that forever changed the world of crime-fighting. From fingerprints to forensic ballistics, from Vidocq to Pinkerton.




2 comments:

  1. I wouldn't call this episode a western. More western feeling had the episodes no. 4 "The Fingerprint" and especially no. 17 about the Pinkerton Detective Agency.
    Curiosity for the spaghetti western fans is presence of Horst Frank in the episode no. 22 (but it takes place in 1920s England).

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  2. Thanks Oik, I've added all three episodes to the post.

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