Banana Joe (film)
Encyclopedia
Banana Joe is a 1982
Italian
-German
action-comedy film
starring Bud Spencer
.
village called Amantido with a huge number of his own children and regularly delivers bananas to a South American river port (hence his name). One day, the henchmen of a local gangster boss named Torsillo come ashore in Amantido to initiate the construction a banana processing plant. Of course, Joe (in typical direct-approach manner) evicts the goons, who promptly return to their boss.
Torsillo finds out that Joe is trading bananas without a license and decides to exploit it. Upon his next delivery, Joe is apprehended by the police and given the choice of either acquiring a legal license or getting his boat taken away and himself arrested for illegal shipment. Joe travels to the nearest city, which to him is a new world, as he grew up in the rainforest. Unfamiliar with city life and only marginally literate, he falls prey to a con man
named Manuel, who has a gift of the gab which has placed him in favor in several high positions, even with the country's President for his help in developing a remedy for a genetic defect in the Presidential family.
Eventually Joe meets Dorianne, an attractive singer, in a bar owned by Torsillo, where he gets a temporary job as a bouncer. Torsillo also runs into Joe personally time and again, and after having seen Joe easily finishing off five of his toughest goons, the gangster boss has taken to jumping out of the next window in a panic the instant he lays an eye on Joe.
In pursuit of his license, Joe finds out that he must get himself registered with the authorities in order to "exist" legally. Since he has no proper official records, however, this proves to be highly difficult, and the constrictions and loop-holes of bureaucracy provide no help in resolving the matter. Joe even has to enlist in the Army, but after driving his drill sergeant to the point of despair and even to degradation, he deserts and lands himself in prison when in his impatience he takes matters (literally) into his own hands. In prison he re-encounters Manuel, whom he intends to pay back for his schemes, but it turns out that the con man actually has a heart of gold: having taken pity on Joe's plight, he had used his connections to get Joe the much-needed license. From Dorianne, who visits him in prison, Joe learns that Torsillo has used his absence to facilitate the construction of the banana plant.
Joe and Manuel promptly break out of prison and return to Amantido, where Joe proceeds to thrash a newly built casino and Torsillo's thugs. Afterwards the police arrive, but not to arrest Joe. Instead they've been looking for Manuel: his remedy he had concocted for the President has worked, and Manuel (and Joe as well) receive amnesty
as well as the fulfilment of a wish (Manuel decides to become Minister of Finance). To top it off, Torsillo is revealed to be no stranger to the authorities, and he and his entourage get arrested immediately. Dorianne decides to stay with Joe in Amantido, where she opens a school which Joe also attends, and Joe's life goes otherwise back to normal.
1982 in film
-Events:* March 26 = I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff is released. Manoff would not appear in another movie until 1987's Backfire.* June = PG-rated film E.T...
Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
action-comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
starring Bud Spencer
Bud Spencer
Bud Spencer is an Italian actor, filmmaker and former swimmer . He is known for past roles in spaghetti westerns together with his long time filmpartner Terence Hill...
.
Plot
Bud Spencer plays Banana Joe, a brawny yet friendly man who lives in a small rainforestRainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
village called Amantido with a huge number of his own children and regularly delivers bananas to a South American river port (hence his name). One day, the henchmen of a local gangster boss named Torsillo come ashore in Amantido to initiate the construction a banana processing plant. Of course, Joe (in typical direct-approach manner) evicts the goons, who promptly return to their boss.
Torsillo finds out that Joe is trading bananas without a license and decides to exploit it. Upon his next delivery, Joe is apprehended by the police and given the choice of either acquiring a legal license or getting his boat taken away and himself arrested for illegal shipment. Joe travels to the nearest city, which to him is a new world, as he grew up in the rainforest. Unfamiliar with city life and only marginally literate, he falls prey to a con man
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
named Manuel, who has a gift of the gab which has placed him in favor in several high positions, even with the country's President for his help in developing a remedy for a genetic defect in the Presidential family.
Eventually Joe meets Dorianne, an attractive singer, in a bar owned by Torsillo, where he gets a temporary job as a bouncer. Torsillo also runs into Joe personally time and again, and after having seen Joe easily finishing off five of his toughest goons, the gangster boss has taken to jumping out of the next window in a panic the instant he lays an eye on Joe.
In pursuit of his license, Joe finds out that he must get himself registered with the authorities in order to "exist" legally. Since he has no proper official records, however, this proves to be highly difficult, and the constrictions and loop-holes of bureaucracy provide no help in resolving the matter. Joe even has to enlist in the Army, but after driving his drill sergeant to the point of despair and even to degradation, he deserts and lands himself in prison when in his impatience he takes matters (literally) into his own hands. In prison he re-encounters Manuel, whom he intends to pay back for his schemes, but it turns out that the con man actually has a heart of gold: having taken pity on Joe's plight, he had used his connections to get Joe the much-needed license. From Dorianne, who visits him in prison, Joe learns that Torsillo has used his absence to facilitate the construction of the banana plant.
Joe and Manuel promptly break out of prison and return to Amantido, where Joe proceeds to thrash a newly built casino and Torsillo's thugs. Afterwards the police arrive, but not to arrest Joe. Instead they've been looking for Manuel: his remedy he had concocted for the President has worked, and Manuel (and Joe as well) receive amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
as well as the fulfilment of a wish (Manuel decides to become Minister of Finance). To top it off, Torsillo is revealed to be no stranger to the authorities, and he and his entourage get arrested immediately. Dorianne decides to stay with Joe in Amantido, where she opens a school which Joe also attends, and Joe's life goes otherwise back to normal.
Production
- The script to this movie was written by Bud Spencer himself, under his civilian name Carlo Pedersoli.
- Parts of the movie were filmed in Cartagena, ColombiaCartagena, ColombiaCartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...
, and it included extras from Cartagena.
Cast
- Bud SpencerBud SpencerBud Spencer is an Italian actor, filmmaker and former swimmer . He is known for past roles in spaghetti westerns together with his long time filmpartner Terence Hill...
.... Banana Joe - Marina Langner .... Dorianne
- Mario Scarpetta .... Manuel
- Gianfranco BarraGianfranco BarraGianfranco Barra is an Italian film actor. He has appeared in 81 films since 1968. He was born in Rome, Italy.-Selected filmography:* Avanti! * Dirty Weekend * Bread and Chocolate * Black Holiday...
.... Torsillo - Enzo GarineiEnzo GarineiEnzo Garinei is an Italian film actor. He has appeared in nearly 80 films since 1949. He was born in Rome, Italy.-Selected filmography:* Signorinella * Accidents to the Taxes!! * Funniest Show on Earth...
.... Ingegner Moreno