By Suze
There's never a dull moment in this absurd action-packed comedy, which has terrific potential, especially in French and Italian territories (dialog is in both languages). It is a well-acted, edited and guarantees a good laugh. Pic begins when Alberto is 15 and leaving home. His father takes him aside for a man-to-man talk, hauls out an adding machine and a stack of receipts (of all the money he spent raising Alberto). He makes the boy add them up: He owes his father 30,250,000 lire, which must be before Alberto's first child is born.
Cut to Alberto lying in bed 15 years later with his very pregnant wife. The race is on for him to get from Paris to Rome to settle his debt by morning. Now a penniless thief, Alberto hops the train running faster than the locomotive at a speed for bizarre adventure.
Every quirky character on the train becomes involved (and robbed), loading the the story with enles scenarios. One constantly wonders "What on earth can happen next?" as the camera hops from one bit of insanity to the next. As it turns out, the train controller is an old friend and lends him 50,000 lire instead of tossing him off the express train. Alberto meets a wild variety of wierdos, including a black homosexual wit a diamond tooth, his ex-girlfriend, and a child who seduces him to rob his father, who in turns offers Alberto larger rewards if Alberto will make love to his sexy young wife in front of him. Everyone on the train is thoroughly strange. Each situation is light and comical.
Two thirds into the pic, script enters the ream of bizarre but saves itself in the last 10 minutes with an unexpected happy ending which tightly ties all loose ends together.
Pic is helmer Arthur Joffé's second feature, one which will put him on the map as a solid comedy director. Alberto Express is hilarious entertainment which will find a natural second life in home video and tv.