Totò plays a retired general whose wife secretly pays his salary just to get him out of the house.
The retired general Antonio Cavalli is a nuisance to his family: to his wife Francesca who still works, to his son and to his daughter-in-law. Then he finds a job in a building firm. Only by chance Cavalli finds out that his salary is paid by his wife to keep him busy. But the general is well known as a very reliable man, and Sandrelli, the firm's owner, uses him and his name to win a valuable contract. When Sandrelli is arrested, the general finds the money to honour his debt but he is robbed while he is going to the bank...
Acting
Totò's face when he discovers the humiliating truth.
Writing
The exquisite cruelty of his wife's well-meaning scheme.
Director
Paolo Heusch
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Totò was Naples' beloved clown prince, and this late-career role lets him weaponize his own frailty for pathos.
Britt Ekland appears in an early role before her Bond girl fame, adding surreal glamour to Totò's crumbling world.
IT
