Italy, in the early 1950s, in the midst of the Cold War . Mr. Albertini, director of a large cheese factory, lives in exaggerated fear of a communist revolution. His staff has gone on strike to demand the reinstatement of two laid-off workers. Only one member of staff is present at the roll call, the young accountant Roberto ( Robert Lamoureux ), a newcomer to the city. Intrigued by the behavior of this zealous worker, Albertini follows him to find out where he lives and notes with horror that he is staying in the premises of the PCI (Italian Communist Party). In a small common room, Roberto explains to a few workers his plan to improve working conditions in the cheese factory, which consists of decorating the courtyard with geraniums, according to a plan he draws in chalk on a board........
;.....but when he draws a cross on the board , the boss' s fear knows no bound anymore : this seemingly harmless employee is a commie terrorist and he's going to assassinate him ,blow up his precious cheese plant .So he decides to make friends with this dangerous "enemy " and he invites him in his luxurious dwelling ;before ,he removes the portrait of a bishop (no connection with the high clergy!) but leaves the samovar (it's Russian!) and makes sure that Russian salad is served ;then begins a dialogue of the deaf which will continue all along a delightful side-splitting comedy ; in this field ,Italians are much better than the French ,and Robert Lamoureux finds here one of his best roles ; icing on the cake, two other French actors, Raymond Bussières and his real -life wife Annette Poivre appear in a scene which opens the clueless accountant's eyes .
All in all , it's a comparatively harmless and reasonably justified plea for a square deal for the proletarians ,but it is a very funny comedy to be recommended .
Special guest star :Buster Keaton!!!!
