''Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure'' ( also known as ''A Friend Is a Treasure'') is a 1981 Italian adventure comedy film, directed by

Sergio Corbucci Sergio Corbucci (; 6 December 1926 – 1 December 1990) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and Film producer, producer. He was one of the main exponents of the Spaghetti Western genre during the 1960s and 1970s, with his most notable work ...

and starring the film duo of

Terence Hill Terence Hill (born Mario Girotti; 29 March 1939) is an Italian actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He began his career as a child actor and gained international fame for starring roles in action and comedy films, many with hi ...

and Bud Spencer. It was filmed at

Key Biscayne, Florida Key Biscayne is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Located on the island of Key Biscayne, the village is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The population was 14,809 at the 2020 United States census, 20 ...

. In the film, a runaway gambler and an actor are accidentally stranded on an isolated Pacific island. They protect the natives from pirates, and steal American money from a Japanese holdout. They then have to permanently defeat the pirate forces in combat. They are rescued by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, and return the stolen money to the Americans. Left broke after their adventures, they are seen planning a museum heist by the end of the film.

Plot

Alan Lloyd (Hill) is an inveterate gambler who accumulates a lot of debt and therefore is forced to flee, pursued by shady employers in the area. Charlie O'Brien (Spencer) is an actor who is hired to advertise a jam (that tastes horrible) and is embarking on a long promotional boat trip. Alan, still fleeing, hides inside Charlie's boat behind his back. After Alan is discovered, the two get into a fight and fall out of the boat, eventually reaching a remote island in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

. There, the two initially believe they are on a deserted island, but then discover that it is inhabited and familiarize themselves with the natives. The welcome party is interrupted by a group of pirates who come each year to capture some natives to sell them as slaves, but they do not know that Alan and Charlie are there now. After a lot of punches and blows the pirates are expelled. The two friends and the natives celebrate and make peace with an old Japanese general in a fort on the island who still believes that

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

is not over. The man receives Alan and Charlie in his bunker and shows them a huge amount of money (stolen from the

during the war) that he kept hidden for years. Charlie is crazy with joy and secretly steals all the money, while the general confides to Alan that the money is all fake. Charlie plans to leave with an old plane but the pirates inadvertently come back to the island more aggressive and with the incursion of a group of criminals who had the honor to clash with Alan at the beginning of the story. The natives are captured and humiliated, so Alan and Charlie, who had gone off (without the latter having discovered the secret of fake money), come back, swoop down with the plane on the attackers and fight their enemies in a battle to the sound of blows and punches, finally defeating them and bringing lasting peace to the island. Finally Alan and Charlie are rescued by the crew of USS ''Forrestal''. They give the fake money to the navy, only to be told that it is real (the government spread the tale the money was fake to prevent the Japanese from spending it). They get hailed as heroes but end up without any money and a hand-made idol (a gift from the grateful natives for Alan and Charlie) ends up donated to a museum. In the final scene we see the idol in a museum with a card saying that it is worth a fortune and Alan and Charlie working as janitors and planning to steal it.

Cast

: Alan Lloyd * Bud Spencer: Charlie O'Brien * Sal Borgese: Anulu * John Fujioka: Kamasuka, a Japanese holdout * Louise Bennett: Mama *Tom Tully: Marine Captain

References

External links

* {{Sergio Corbucci 1981 films 1980s adventure comedy films 1981 action comedy films Italian adventure comedy films Terence Hill and Bud Spencer Films directed by Sergio Corbucci Films shot in Florida Films set in Oceania Films set on islands Japanese holdouts 1981 comedy films 1980s Italian films Films about treasure hunting Italian action comedy films Films about actors Pirate films Films about the United States Navy

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links