The Camels

PlotCamillo, who organizes companies of performers for shows of dubious quality, has just recruited Ferruccio Ferri, an unwary young man who knows everything about camels. In the company of a jack-of-all-trades driver and a grotesque singer whom Camillo is in love with, the two of them set off from Carpi, leading a camel along with them. Crossing the low Po Valley, they reach Milan, where Ferruccio Ferri must take part in the final round of a television quiz show. Along the journey he wins a few prizes by performing at various small-town fairs. On the long-awaited evening, however (with 500 million lire at stake), Ferruccio shows up alone, without the animal, since Camillo has disbanded his not very lucrative company. Ferruccio does not win: he argues that Somali camels are colour-blind, whereas according to the television channel they are cross-eyed. After filing an appeal for review, Ferruccio catches a train back home.