The Professor (1986) Plot Summary Explained

Franco killed the boy because the boy had been harassing his sister Rosaria. This violent act, committed in 1963 to protect his sister's honor, was the spark that led to Franco's imprisonment in Poggioreale Prison in Naples, where he would eventually transform into the feared Professor.

• Franco
• Rosaria
• killing
• harassment
• sister

Over ten years (1963-1973) in Poggioreale Prison, Franco used a combination of intelligence, strategic alliances, and intimidation to rise to a position of authority among inmates. He earned the nickname 'O Professore di Vesuviano' by demonstrating leadership skills and building a loyal criminal network that would later form Camorra Riformata.

• Franco
• Professor
• prison
• Poggioreale
• power
• rise

Camorra Riformata was the criminal organization Franco founded inside Poggioreale Prison alongside Alfredo Canale and Pasquale Zara ('the animal'). It was significant because it was a prison-born network that expanded beyond cell walls, challenging old Camorra families and sparking the brutal War of the Camorra that devastated southern Italy through the 1970s and 1980s.

• Camorra Riformata
• Alfredo Canale
• Pasquale Zara
• organization
• war

After the Professor helped secure Mimmo Mesillo's release from Red Brigades captivity, the politicians reneged on their promise to free him on mental illness grounds and pay the 3 billion-lira ransom. Instead, they moved him to the high-security Asinara prison by decree of President Sandro Pertini, effectively silencing him and cutting his influence.

Foreshadowing: The earlier deal between the Professor and political authorities established the corrupt bargain that made his eventual betrayal more devastating.

• politicians
• deal
• betrayal
• freedom
• Mesillo
• Asinara

The devastating 1980 earthquake in Naples and Campania intensified the struggle over reconstruction money and power among criminal factions. As resources flooded in for rebuilding, the Camorra war escalated as factions fought ruthlessly for control of these funds, consolidating power for the most ruthless groups.

• earthquake
• 1980
• Naples
• reconstruction
• money
• war

When the Professor was moved to Asinara prison in Sardinia, he was cut off from his network. His trusted men, now isolated from his leadership, began cooperating with police. This betrayal from within caused the organization to disintegrate rapidly, despite his sister Rosaria's efforts to stem the damage.

Foreshadowing: The Professor's earlier reliance on a tight-knit inner circle became a vulnerability once he was physically removed from Naples.

• Asinara
• network
• collapse
• betrayal
• Rosaria
• police

Ciro was a trusted member of the Professor's organization who sold out to politicians, cooperating with authorities after the Professor's removal. As punishment for this betrayal, Ciro was killed by a car bomb, and his partner's woman was dissolved in acid, brutal acts demonstrating the organization reach and the consequences of disloyalty.

• Ciro
• betrayal
• killing
• acid
• car bomb
• punishment

After being betrayed by politicians, losing control of his organization, and learning of Ciro's execution and the acid dissolution, events that shattered his remaining power and loyalty, the Professor was driven to insanity. Confined in Asinara, he became convinced that someday his loyal men would release him, withdrawing into delusion as his world crumbled.

Foreshadowing: The Professor's psychological break was foreshadowed by his gradual loss of control over the very organization he built from prison.

• Professor
• madness
• insanity
• breakdown
• confinement
• delusion

Rosaria, Franco's sister, served as a crucial ally in attempting to protect the organization after the Professor's transfer to Asinara. She fought to counteract the damage from betrayals and shield the network from collapse, though her efforts ultimately proved futile as the organization disintegrated from within.

• Rosaria
• sister
• support
• organization
• damage control

After the Professor orchestrated Mesillo's release from Red Brigades captivity, the politician allies placed Mesillo directly in secret services custody rather than police custody. This move circumvented the original agreement and prevented the Professor from maintaining leverage, signaling the authorities' intent to break their deal with the criminal organization.

• Mesillo
• secret services
• custody
• police
• deal
• leverage