The romantic secret of "Three nuts for Cinderella": What the actors of the famous movie fairy tale were hiding

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The film "Three Nuts for Cinderella" was released 47 years ago, but still remains one of the most beloved and popular movie fairy tales that are shown on television on New Year's and Christmas. Czech actors Libuše Shafrankova (Cinderella) and Pavel Travnichek (Prince) looked like a perfect match on the screens. There was not a single kiss in the frame, but they gave each other such glances that none of the spectators doubted the sincerity of their feelings. And only years later, one of them admitted that the most romantic scenes were left behind the scenes …

This film turned out to be a real winter fairy tale, although this was not originally intended in the script. The audience will surely remember the incredibly beautiful scenes in the winter forest and on the snow-covered fields, through which Cinderella and the Prince rode horses. In fact, these scenes were supposed to be filmed in the flowering summer meadows, but the filming dates suddenly changed, and the director was forced to complete the work in the winter. The fact is that the funds allocated in the Czech Republic for the production of the film were not enough, and it was decided to make a joint project with the GDR. And the director of the German film studio "DEFA" announced in October that he could provide pavilions only for the next 3 months. He proceeded from the considerations that in winter they are usually idle, and the summer months are the most demanded for filming, and it is much more difficult to assemble a film group at this time. Therefore, both the scenery and the shooting on location had to be adapted to the new conditions. It must be admitted that the film only benefited from this - for almost 50 years in several countries it has been repeated on television during the winter holidays, and many viewers associate it with the New Year and Christmas.

The search for an actress for the main role continued for quite some time. Director Vaclav Vorlicek considered dozens of candidates and chose the actress Yana Preissova. But then it turned out that she was expecting a baby and by the time the riding scenes were filmed she would be six months old. I urgently had to look for another actress. And then the director remembered 19-year-old Libusha Shafrankova: "".

The actress was immediately invited to audition. Later, the director recalled that after reading the script, she sat for a long time in silence, her head bowed. Vorlicek was worried - is the actress really disappointed with the script and will refuse the role? But when she finally looked up, he saw tears in them - Libuche immediately understood what prospects this role opens up for her, and with delight she could not utter a word. Having secured her consent, the director put forward another condition: before filming began, she must learn to ride. And then it turned out that since childhood, Shafrankova perfectly keeps in the saddle, because she grew up in the countryside, next to the riding school, and was an experienced rider. Vorlicek understood: he had finally found the perfect heroine!

The actor for the main male role was selected specifically "for Shafrankova." The management decided that next to such a beauty there should be a partner with the appearance of Alain Delon. There were about 20 actors on the list of applicants. Vorlicek then taught at the film school and remembered that he saw 23-year-old actor Pavel Travnichek in his student's thesis. He had no acting experience - before that he starred in only one short film, he could not ride and spoke with a strong Moravian accent, but the director admitted that his main trump card was "European appearance" - Travnichek reminded him of the young Alain Delon. In addition, he looked like a modern prince - relaxed, daring, lively, "hooligan". Such a prince was in no way inferior to Cinderella, who in the Czech interpretation of the famous fairy tale plot was also not meek and submissive, but a real "emancipation". Pavel immediately began to take riding lessons and by the beginning of filming was already quite good in the saddle. But he could not get rid of the accent, so another actor voiced his character.

Travnichek was very grateful to the director for giving him a chance to start a film career with such a bright role. And when he saw his partner, he was even more delighted with the luck that fell to his lot. Later he said that then "". When the audience saw this couple on the screens, many decided that the actors and behind the scenes had a romantic relationship, because what was reflected in their eyes, in the opinion of many, was impossible to play. Libuche never commented on these rumors and answered questions about her relationship with Paul evasively: “”.

But Travnichek, years later, revealed their secret. In an interview, the actor admitted: "".

The costumes of the heroes were really too light, because the shooting was planned to take place in the summer. And then in Czechoslovakia, frosts hit minus 20, the country was covered with snow, and even the camera had to be wrapped in blankets. But Travnichek and Shafrankova were so absorbed in their feelings that even these circumstances did not frighten them. There was not a single scene with the characters kissing in the film - they only held hands and exchanged eloquent glances, and all the real kisses were left behind the scenes.

Many fans of the actors expected the continuation of the romantic fairy tale in real life, but their romance ended with the end of filming. Later they starred together in another fairy tale - "The Third Prince", where they again played a couple in love. However, their paths had already diverged by this time. Libuse Shafrankova soon married the Czech actor Josef Abrgam, they lived together for about 40 years and raised a son who also linked his life with cinema and became a documentary filmmaker.

After the premiere of Three Nuts for Cinderella, the actress became a real star, she starred a lot and shone on the theater stage. This continued until 2012, and then Shafrankova began to have serious health problems - she was diagnosed with a tumor in the lung. Since then, the actress bravely fights her illness, leads a secluded life and rarely appears in public. "", - Libuche admits.

The fate of Pavel Travnichek was happy. Although he acted a little in films and from time to time, in the theater he had a lot of work. In addition, he was the head of a musical theater, organized his own acting agency, and worked on Czech television. He was married 4 times, he has two adult sons, and 3 years ago his fourth wife, who is 34 years younger than him, gave him another son. In 2018, the actor again appeared in the fairy tale "Three Nuts for Cinderella", but this time in the form of the prince's father - the king, in the musical of the Czech theater.

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