“Mi¶” you don’t know. Lądek Zdrój, cut scenes and the fate of the last sausage

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“Teddy Bear” appeared on the screen in 1981 thanks to a temporary thaw in cinematography. Although the censorship process went relatively smoothly, changes had to be made to some scenes. Despite this, Stanisław Bareja’s comedy is still entertaining to this day, and the story in the “fumes of absurdity” about the fate of Ryszard Ochódzki and Ryszard Paluch has gained cult status. Because after all, all Rysie girls are nice guys.

Crowd hungry for spirits? Censorship is relentless

Let’s start with a scene that did not pass the “sieve” of the censorship of that time. There was a controversial scene in the film, which was also included in the script. It showed a crowd of people who, seeing broken spirit bottles in the street, lie down on the street and drink alcohol in small amounts. The idea came from Stanisław Tym, who saw a similar incident during the occupation – a large jug of moonshine fell from a moving cab and shattered into dust upon contact with the ground. The cab driver immediately got down from the car and started drinking a large glass of alcohol.

Ochódzki in London. Or in Warsaw?

But Ochódzki’s name wasn’t supposed to sound like that in the film. Originally, the hero of “Teddy Bear” was supposed to be Rysiek Nowohucki, in honor of the great construction pride of the Polish People’s Republic, Nowa Huta. The censorship office also reacted here.

Although we, together with Ryszard and Irena Ochódzka, stop for a moment in London, only some of the scenes were shot in the capital of England. Reason? Limited budget and problems with issuing passports to the film crew. That’s why only the actors, the director, the cinematographer and the production manager went on the 3-day trip. Poles living there, who were also friends, were invited to make the film. Interestingly, the delicatessen that appears in the film was not in the script. The crew came across it by accident while walking through the streets of London.

The truth of time and the truth of the screen. We also use this slogan, known from “Miś”, to explain the filming of the “London” scenes in Warsaw. And so the Heathrow airport was actually “located” in the lobby of the Intraco II skyscraper in Warsaw.

One step away from tragedy. A movie without sausages?

One of the film’s key scenes? The one with the sausages. But how to get them in the store in those years? So they came up with a truly original idea – first, permission was obtained to buy a few meters of sheep intestines, then they were stuffed with meat without preservatives. However, the hand-made butcher shop did not predict one thing – the next day the sausages changed color. So they were bathed in onion broth, and the sausages regained their former glory.

We will not forget the action from the milk bar. Customers eat their meals there using cutlery attached to the table by chains. A visible allusion to theft and scheming in the rightly past times. However, the censorship turned out to be kind and after making a few corrections to the script, we still laugh at this scene until we cry.

Great cast. Also with the participation of the creators’ families

But “Miś” is not only a group of experts and specialists from the world of cinematography. In the film we also meet family members of the main characters. Thus, the scout counting people in the queue to the pharmacy was played by his son, and the role of secretary at the Citizens’ Militia Headquarters was played by Stanisław Bareja’s daughter. But Stanisław Tym’s family also appeared on the screen of the cult film. His father, in fact a women’s hairdresser, personally cut Rysiek Paluch’s hair into a Kojak style. There was also room for the actor’s wife. She was the one who had a problem filling out the declaration on board the plane to London. Or maybe Lądka Zdrój?

Now that we know the “tastes” from this iconic film, should we catch them now, you ask? The next opportunity is this Sunday (November 19). We will watch “Miś” on TVP Kultura at 8 p.m. And it doesn’t matter that we already know it by heart. It’s almost a holiday.