Jumping Over Puddles
Adam, the 10-year-old son of the Imperial horse-trainer, loves nothing more than riding his own horse. Unfortunately he is suddenly stricken with polio, and painful treatments, hospitalization, and operations follow. He comes out unable to move without the help of crutches or a wheel chair. He is crippled but undaunted in spirit. The boy is fully confident that he is going to jump over the puddles and ride horses again. Then he begins to make his dreams come true with the help of his friends. He succeeds and is back in the saddles.
Cast:
| Vladimír Dlouhý | ........ | Adam |
| Zdena Hadrbolcová | ........ | Mother |
| Karel Hlusicka | ........ | Father |
| Vladimír Dlouhý | ........ | Adam (younger) |
Won the Silver Shell Award of the San Sabastian International Film Festival, and the Grand Prix and Golden Statuette at the International Film Festival in Teheran.
An Australian miniseries "I Can Jump Puddles" was made in 1981.
IMDB
Lucy and the Miracles
Also known as: Lucie a zázraky, Lucie and the Miracles,
Lucia und die Wunder, Lucie et Les Miracles
Czechoslovakia 1970 72min
Broadcast 09/15/73, 05/11/74
Directed by: Ota Koval
The harsh reality of a home for abandoned children blends with episodes of youthful fantasy and slapstick comedy in this story of an orphan girl. Lucy's fondest wish is to find new parents and leave an orphanage. She befriends a man who can create doors from paint. He gives her a stuffed dog that magically comes alive when placed on the ground, and he and his wife end up adopting the little girl. After finding parents of her own, Lucy sets out through fantasy to find parents for her orphan friends. All of the people Lucy meet during her remarkable make believe wanderings end up taking children home.
Cast:
| Viktorie Cermáková | ........ | Lucy |
| Nada Urbánková | ........ | Petra |
| Jan Tríska | ........ | Mikulá |
The Lone Wolf
A story about the unusual friendship between a 9-year-old boy and a "dangerous" German Shepherd. The old military dog is considered a mad sheep slayer by local hunters, who seek to kill him. The boy, Runko, risks his life to prove them wrong.
Cast:
| Slavko Stimac | ........ | Ranko |
| Zeljko Mataija | ........ | Redjo |
| Ivan Stimac | ........ | Ciro |
| Boro Ivanisevic | ........ | Joso |
Notes: Honored by awards from the International Children's Film Festival in Gijon Spain and the Teheran International Festival of Films for Children and Young Adults in Teheran Iran. In 1974 it was named the Silver Arena winner at the Festival of Feature Films in Pula, Yugoslavia.
IMDB
Gosha the Bear
Also known as: Korol manezha, Gosha the Circus Bear
King of the Ring, Auf Zirkusbaren schiebt man nicht
Король манежа
Le Roi du mančge
Soviet Union 1969 74min
Broadcast 09/29/73*, 01/05/74, 05/04/74
Directed by: Yuri Chulyukin
Film of a pampered circus bear that becomes lost in the woods and must learn to survive. When Gosha's circus train stops to take on water, the venturesome bear leaves his cage, becomes frightened by the townspeople and runs into the forest for sanctuary. Gosha has a rude awakening when he discovers the forest is not as safe as his cage, and its inhabitants are not as friendly as the circus attendants. Pampered all his life as a star performer, he must learn to survive in a hostile environment. Meanwhile, his trainer Kolya and a search party must finally give up looking for Gosha as winter sets in. The bear eventually comes to terms with his new environment and learns to fend for himself, but never really forgets his beloved Kolya.
Cast:
| Ivan Kudryavtsev | ........ | Kolya |
| Vladimir Pitsek | ........ | Semyonich |
The Giant Eel
Tony, a city boy from Prague, visits his aunt’s farm in the small village of Petipsy over the summer holidays. He is dismayed to discover that the local children are mean, and even the dogs are unfriendly. The local kids have a gang, and they don't take kindly to newcomers. He manages to makes friends with two children: Ruda, a boy who is also from the city, and Annie, a little girl. The local gang spends most of its time in a deserted stone quarry which surrounds a quiet lagoon. Legend has it that a monster lives in that lagoon, and every year the bravest child tries to capture it. Tony proves himself to the others and becomes a hero with an act of bravery involving the legendary monster, a giant eel.
Cast:
| Jana Petrusová | ........ | Anca/Annie |
| Jirí Kúkol | ........ | Tony/Tonda |
| Josef Paclt | ........ | Franta |
| Robert Krásný | ........ | Ruda |
Birds Come Flying to Us
Opri is a young gypsy whose family hunts crows to sell their feet as a delicacy. The boy is fascinated by the
wonderful world of birds, a love not shared by his family. He ends up making friends with a group of ornithologists
and particularly with Yanka, one of their daughters. The boy spends a fun-filled summer close to nature, finds
his true vocation and become encouraged to deepen his knowledge of birds. When the boy saves the life of a rare white
crow, he gives it to an ornithologist. Soon after, Opri decides to leave his nomadic life and takes up residence on
the bird preserve run by the ornithologist. The boy is forced to realize that others do not share his feelings when
a heron is mercilessly shot by museum taxidermists. He must then come to terms with his inner conflict before
he can continue studying the birds he wishes to save.
Cast:
| Yordan Mitov | ........ | Opri |
| Nelli Topalova | ........ | Yanka |
| Borislav Ivanov | ........ | Dyado Bonko |
| Viktor Danchenko | ........ | Ivaylo |
The film was shot on location in northeastern Bulgaria between the Black Sea and the Danube - a district that is crossed by a route that has been used by migrant birds for centuries.
IMDB
Countdown to Danger
United Kingdom 1967 63min
Broadcast 11/03/73, 01/08/75, 08/17/74
Directed by: Peter Seabourne
Four youngsters explore an underground warehouse while on holiday on the island of Aldernay. One of the boys
falls through a rotting roof into an old WWII German mine cache and is trapped. Attempting to free himself he
dislodges a mine which begins to tick ominously When his young friends learn of his plight they try to locate a
bomb disposal officer who is vacationing on the island of Guernsey. When the officer eventually arrives he opts
to let the boy disarm the mine himself. Success appears to be achieved until a critical situation is encountered,
and a desperate gamble must be undertaken.
Cast:
| David Macalister | ........ | Mike |
| Paul A. Martin | ........ | Tony |
| Angela Lee | ........ | Sue |
| Richard Coleman | ........ | Captain Wright |
Black Mountain
A terrible drought visits the jungle during the dry season, and many of the elephants in a herd suffer and die. One of them, a bull elephant, goes mad and runs wild through a village. In revenge, the villagers build a giant trap for the elephants and then teach the captured animals to work for them — all but Black Mountain, who is separated from his mate and calf. Only the boy Manu manages to train the proud animal, and they become great friends. When Black Mountain saves the village from another crazed elephant, the villagers set him free.
Cast: Rayman the pasha, Prins Pradip
The Magnificent 6 ½
| Kim Talmadge | ........ | Peewee |
| Robin Davies | ........ | Steve |
| Ian Ellis | ........ | Dumbo |
| Brinsley Forde | ........ | Toby |
| Suzanne Togni | ........ | Liz |
| Lionel Hawkes | ........ | Stodger |
| Michael Audreson | ........ | Whizz |
Six Bears and a Clown
A circus clown named Orion is fired from the circus. At the suggestion of a couple of school children he has befriended, Orion dresses as a matron and gets a job at their boarding school as a cook. Meanwhile, the manager of the circus trades the six bears the clown had trained for a pig act, much to his regret. Homesick for the clown, the
bears escape and follow their former master to his new job, arriving the same day a school inspector is due. Amid the resulting chaos, a chimpanzee named Tony tries to hide the six bears.
Cast:
| Lubomir Lipsky | ........ | Cibulka/Orion |
| Jiri Sovak | ........ | School Director |
| Jan Libicek | ........ | Circus Director |
Friends for Life
The story of the unusual friendship between a Russian forest ranger and an orphaned lynx is told. The ranger rescues the injured baby lynx, whose mother has been killed by a bear, nurses it back to health with the help of the ranger's German Shepherd, and the three become close and loyal friends. The lynx grows into a fine, strong animal, and the ranger refuses many offers to sell him. Trouble starts when the full-grown cat is stolen and sold to a traveling circus; the lynx later escapes to reach his friend the ranger.
Cast: Dmitri Orlovsky, Arkadi Tolbuzin, Georgi Rybakov, Feliks Sergeyev
Also Broadcast:
| Scramble | 10/13/73, 07/06/74 |
| Tjorven, Batsman and Moses | 10/20/73, 03/02/74, 08/10/74 |
| Stowaway in the Sky | (Pt.1) 11/17/73, (Pt. 2) 11/24/73 |
| Tony and the Tick-Tock Dragon | 02/09/74, 06/29/74 |
| Tymancha’s Friend | 02/16/74 |
| Mr. Horatio Knibbles | 03/30/74, 08/03/74 |
| The Yellow Slippers | 04/27/74, 08/24/74 |
| Adventure in Golden Bay | 06/08/74, 08/31/74 |
| The Johnstown Monster | 01/26/74, 07/20/74 |
| Seasons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1971 | 1971-1972 |
| 1972-1973 | 1973-1974 | 1974-1975 | 1975-1976 | 1976-1977 |
| 1977-1978 | 1979 | 1983 | 1984 | |