Mario Mattoli
Tototarzan

THE REVIEW

Three adventurers search for a man abandoned in an African forest to obtain legal custody and thus seize his inheritance.

The man in question is, of course, Prince Antonio De Curtis who initially allows himself to be captured, charmed by the promises of civilization offered by the three wrongdoers.

Once in Italy, however, troubles begin for him: an uncle of Tototarzan appears at the notary who is supposed to notify the inheritance, claiming he wants to take custody of him and, with him, his substantial inheritance. He invites him to his home and treats him like a prince. To get him away from there, the three adventurers then have Tototarzan called up for military service.

Once that experience is over, Tototarzan's uncle decides to ally himself with the wrongdoers, to kill the man-ape and divide the inheritance. A woman from the group of three, not agreeing with the plan, is sent to Genoa to board a ship headed far away. However, Tototarzan manages to save himself, also thanks to the help of the monkey Bongo, and heads to Genoa to meet the woman aforementioned, with whom he is in love.

I won't reveal the ending, but I'll just say that Tototarzan will change his mind about the "beauties of civilization."

As you can see, the plot of the film is quite intricate and unfolds in a somewhat confusing and adventurous manner; however, there are some cute comedic moments, like when Tototarzan has to choose whether to sleep on a tree or in a soft bed, choosing the latter, and delivering the funny line: "jungle man yes, fool no!"

In conclusion, a film not up to the masterpieces of the Neapolitan artist from the sixties, but enjoyable enough, with a subtle critique of our consumer society, perhaps too often obsessed with the pursuit of profit, even at the cost of sacrificing our "natural" side (deforestation, pollution, etc.)