The Firemen's Ball

Original title: Horzhí, má panenko

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A volunteer fire department throws a party for their former boss with the whole town invited, but nothing goes as planned.A volunteer fire department throws a party for their former boss with the whole town invited, but nothing goes as planned.A volunteer fire department throws a party for their former boss with the whole town invited, but nothing goes as planned.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

13K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total

Trivia
Director Milos Forman with screenwriters Jaroslav Papousek and Ivan Passer were in the small town of Vrchabi, trying to concentrate on a screenplay after their success with Loves of a Blonde (1965). One evening, on a lark, they went to a real firemen's ball in the town. What they saw there was so remarkable, they abandoned the script they were working on and began writing this film.

Quotes
Gray-haired Committee Member: The lottery has been stolen.
Joska, Committee Member: Gentlemen, there is one fact: if the people stole it, they cannot win it.
Committee Member: Don't talk like that, Joska. What about those people who bought the tickets honestly and didn't steal anything?
Joska, Committee Member: They should have stolen.

Alternate versions
In the United States, this film was shown in both subtitled and English-dubbed versions.

Connections
Edited into CzechMate: In Search of Jirí Menzel (2018)

Soundtracks
From Me to you
(uncredited)
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Played by the band at the ball

User reviews52

Review

Featured review

Superb lost comedy

Reaching 70 years young in a few weeks, I was thinking about some of the films I most enjoyed when young and would I still enjoy them now? The Fireman's Ball seems to be a lost comedy here in the UK. It never pops up on TV and does not appear in film festivals or revival houses.What a loss to those who were not alive in 1967. If your a Brit reading this think Dad's Army and then fireman instead and your nearly there.Its country of origin is Czechoslovakia,with a little help from Italy, a big hit with a best foreign film Oscar, a running time of 73 mins and not one minute wasted.A town's fire department celebrating with a ball to honour it's retired elderly chief, a beauty contest and a large table with raffle prizes that vanish one by one, that's it,but oh boy it is good, totally droll and very funny.The punchline at it's end maybe posted but who cares. If only some of the comedies today knew when to stop. Really pleased that this was one old film I rerented.