Fracchia la belva umana (Fracchia the fanatic or Fracchia The Human Beast) is a 1981 Italian comedy film directed by Neri Parenti. The film is loosely inspired by The Whole Town's Talking. It was screened at the 67th Venice International Film Festival as an Italian comedy. Its cast includes: Paolo Villaggio, Lino Banfi and the then young Massimo Boldi and Francesco Salvi.
Plot
Due to misfortune, Giandomenico Fracchia (an employee in a chocolate factory) ends up becoming a body double of a terrible criminal known as "the human beast": which leads into series of problems and misunderstandings for him.
Cast
Paolo Villaggio as Giandomenico Fracchia / La Belva Umana
Lino Banfi as Commissario Auricchio
Anna Mazzamauro as Miss Corvino
Francesco Salvi as Neuro
Sandro Ghiani as De Simone
Antonio Allocca as Carabinieri's Marshal
Jole Silvani as Palmira (as Iole Silvani) Fiammetta Baralla as chubby girl doing jogging Ugo Bologna as bank director Giulio Farnese as afterworld's gatekeeper Renzo Rinaldi as Carabinieri's Colonel Renato Cecchetto as DIGOS' Chief Roberto Della Casa as Tino Massimo Boldi as Pera Gigi Reder as The Human Beast's mother
Production
It was the first of the two films about Fracchia, a character created by Paolo Villaggio, along with the most famous Ugo Fantozzi. Despite being published six years after Fantozzi, and pulling many gags from Fantozzi's movies, the film was a success and became a cult movie. Many gags from the movie became famous (IE the sit on the pouf) and defined the typical repertoire of Paolo Villaggio (right in this film was introduced at the cinema the famous joke «Com'è umano lei!» («How humane you are!») was first born on TV).
Among the characters the noteworthy performances are: Gigi Reder who plays the mother of "The Human Beast" and Anna Mazzamauro who plays the lover of "The Human Beast" (whose love is not reciprocate by Fracchia). Honorary mentions are: two youth Massimo Boldi and Francesco Salvi playing as accomplices of "The Human Beast". Memorables scenes are the gags between the Chief of Police Commissario Auricchio (Lino Banfi) and his subordinante Appuntato De Simone (Sandro Ghiani).