Il burbero

Il burbero (The Gruff) is a 1986 Italian comedy film directed by Castellano & Pipolo.

Plot

Mary Cimino, a waitress from New York, receives a call from her Italian husband Giulio, who tells her that he has acquired unexpected wealth and requests her immediate presence in Florence, Italy. She rushes to leave by plane from America, but at the airport she is told that no direct flight to Florence is available, only to Pisa. While looking for a way to get a seat, she encounters the Italian lawyer Tito Torrisi, who has reserved himself an empty seat for privacy. With much persuasion, she manages to coax him into granting her the empty seat, and during her journey she becomes both attracted to his ruggedly handsome looks and angered by his surly personality.

Upon their arrival in Italy, Mary's and Tito's suitcases get mixed up, and when Mary reaches her hotel, she is ambushed and left tied up by an unknown assailant, who ransacks the suitcase in search for something. Tito arrives to reclaim his suitcase, thereby accidentally pushing the attacker from the windowsill he has hidden himself on, and is persuaded by Mary to help her in finding out the reason for the attack. They both set out to meet Giulio, but when Mary meets him, he pretends not to recognize her, and is found to be pursued by three sinister men, one of them being Mary's assailant from the hotel. When Giulio is cornered, he swallows a pill and collapses, dead; in his wallet, the three men find a receipt for a registered letter.