Krakatit

Krakatit is a Czechoslovak mystery and science-fiction thriller from 1948, based on the novel by Karel Čapek. It centres on Prokop, an experimental chemist who discovers a tremendously powerful explosive called Krakatit. After an accident in his laboratory, he drifts in and out of feverish delirium, and it becomes clear that the formula has passed into other hands. As arms manufacturers, foreign interests and anarchists all try to obtain it, Prokop finds himself caught between them while he tries to keep his invention from being misused.

The film was directed by Otakar Vávra, who wrote the screenplay with Jaroslav R. Vávra. Karel Höger plays Prokop, with Florence Marly as Princess Wilhelmina Hagen, Jiří Plachý as D'Hemon, Nataša Tanská as Anna Tomes and František Smolík as Dr. Tomeš. At the time of its release, Vávra was already an established filmmaker in Czechoslovakia, and the film belongs to a run of literary adaptations he made in that period of his career.

On IMDb, Krakatit holds a rating of 7.2 from 565 votes, while on TMDB it has a rating of 6.5 from 24 votes. The much larger number of votes on IMDb gives that rating more weight, suggesting a generally favourable response from viewers who have seen the film.