A combination of a satire on war and a comedy with war as the background. It tells of the ordinary people living on a Naples sidestreet, from 1940 to 1950 under the dominance of the Fascists, the Nazis and then the Allies occupation forces. Primary among the citizens is Gennaro Iovine (Eduard De Filippo)who has a penchant for innocently getting into trouble, and his friend Pasquale (Toto.) The latter is a rail-sweeper who becomes a professional stand-in...a corpse used to conceal contraband...serving jail time for those who don't care to spend the time to do the time...a substitute at a political rally when violence threatens the scheduled speaker
as Gennaro Iovine
as Maria Rosaria Iovine
as Amalia
as Adelaide
as Il brigadiere di Ps
as Pasquale Miele
as Il rosticciere
as Amedeo
as La moglie del ragionier Spasiani
as Il ragioner Spasiani
as Il cantante di concertino
as Assunta
as Federico
as Peppe "'o Cricco"
as Riruccia
as Un soldato
as L'ufficiale americano
as Il sergente americano
as Un soldato americano
as Ernesto
as Giovanni
as Narrator