Totò in the Moon

Achilles Paoloni, a delivery boy for Soubrette, starts writing a science fiction novel with big dreams of publication. He hopes Cavaliere Pasquale Belafronte will champion his work, but the old patron remains hostile. This tension sets the stage for Achilles' struggle between art and an unforgiving publishing world.

U.S. scientists discover that Achilles carries glumonium in his blood, a substance from being fed monkey breast milk as a newborn. This rare trait makes him a candidate for spaceflight, turning a literary dream into a literal space opportunity. The discovery reframes Achilles' future in dramatic and global terms.

Two FBI agents visit Achilles' office to recruit him for a space mission. Achilles, hearing 'publishers,' misreads the visit as a pitch for international distribution of his novel. The misunderstanding propels him toward a mission he never anticipated.

Upon realizing the misunderstanding, Pasquale abruptly changes his attitude and pushes to publish Achilles' novel at his own expense. He even agrees to the engagement between Achilles and his daughter Lydia, signaling a dramatic reversal of years of hostility.

Pasquale discovers that the U.S. intends to launch a real rocket with Achilles on board, turning the dream of publication into a literal space mission. The stakes rise from literary fame to national security and interplanetary travel.

Envoys from a foreign power, including German rocket scientist Von Braut and the spy Tatiana, begin pursuing Achilles. The presence of competing factions heightens the danger and complexity of Achilles' future.

Strange aliens called Annelids drop two cosoni, identical copies of Pasquale and Achilles, intending to be shipped to the Moon. Their mission is to sabotage the human attempt and preserve a delicate alien balance in the cosmos.

The German agents kidnap the real Pasquale and Achilles' replica, Hibernate them, and ship them into space in a rocket. The launch proceeds, but the situation spirals as the mission careens toward the Moon.

The Annelids intervene to prevent a successful human conquest and land the rocket on the Moon. Their action preserves balance in the galactic order and thwarts the sabotaged mission.

One Anellid reveals itself to Pasquale and explains that Achilles has become a successful science fiction writer with a family, while Pasquale is effectively replaced by his cosone. This revelation reframes Pasquale's place in the world and his own importance.

Pasquale observes that his absence is largely inconsequential because his cosone performs his duties and even courts his former maid. The irony underscores the theme of identity and replacement in this surreal tale.

Exiled on the Moon, Pasquale convinces the Anellids to transform Achilles' cosone into a beautiful woman. The transformation provides a whimsical, dreamlike resolution to the tale's questions of identity and belonging.