Afrikai völegény

This movie is in the tradition of the classic French farce, and it is well done. It is a comedy of errors. A Hungarian engineer who has gotten rich finding oil in Africa returns to Hungary, hoping to meet his female pen pal with whom he has fallen in love. He enlists the assistance of his old schoolmate Tobias (Kalman Latabar), an out of work actor who is a quick-witted schemer, and who is constantly fleeing his creditors.

The acting is top notch, especially by Kalman Latabar, who is sometimes called the Hungarian Charlie Chaplin. While it is a farce, with the usual outrageous coincidences, the plot is resolved in a reasonably sensible manner. The film is dated as being made in 1944, which is remarkable as there is a total absence of any reference to wartime conditions. It is nonpolitical, which is very hard to find among any Hungarian films made after 1949 or thereabouts.