Here is Totò at the height of his comic powers as straight man to the insanity around him. His beleaguered yet determined Commissioner Saracino, chief of police, seems right out of Jean-Pierre Melville, but of course Melville's cops don't go undercover in a bra and slip, nor take testimony from a parrot. The dialogue is a veritable "Who's On First," most brilliantly with a crooked customs inspector (Nino Taranto) whose pronunciation quirks defy even George W's for malaprops. Aldo Fabrizi reprises (or rather satirizes) his role in Open City, as a priest not to the underground but to the underworld, debating the notion of confession with another pro, the police chief. The crazy episodic roundalay is set to the vibraphone jazz that makes these sixties Italian films swing. (JB)