Some film productions demand a lot from the cast and crew. This also applies to the Czech Christmas classic Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella from 1973. Because in order to create the wintry aesthetic of the film, Those present had to endure the disgusting smell of fish.
Disgusting twist on Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella: Three nose clips would have been better
The film Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella is an adaptation of Grimm’s Cinderella and O Popelce (About Cinderella), which Czech variant of the well-known fairy tale. Here Cinderella accidentally comes across three magical hazelnuts that grant her various wishes and change her life forever.
Filmed in the winter of 1973, the fairy tale film is known for its charming winter landscapes. However, behind the enchanting snow aesthetic there is a complicated (and disgusting) history – because Occasionally the smell on set was anything but pleasantas reported by BR, among others, in a trivia compilation about the film.
The fairy tale was originally intended for the warmer months of spring. However, DEFA (Deutsche Film-AG) already had a few film projects planned for this period and could no longer accommodate Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella.
So without further ado it was decided to make a winter film. Moritzburg Castle near Dresden, the DEFA Babelsberg studios, the Barrandov film studios in Prague, the Czech Schwihau Castle and the Bohemian Forest served as filming locations.
The artificial snow consisted of fishmeal
All of these places were beautiful backdrops, but had one problematic thing in common: no snow would fall. The enchanted-looking forest in front of the camera may be real – the masses of snow are not.
For this reason, the film team had to do tricks and create lots of artificial snow. It existed at that time made from fishmeal – and thus brought a unique scent to the filming.
Luckily, movies aren’t known for transmitting smells to the screen.
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The image and sound, in turn, were able to convince the audience – the winter illusion was perfect and the film has been an integral part of the public broadcaster’s Christmas program for 50 years.
This article was first published in a similar form on Moviepilot in December 2024.