Uncle Marin, the Billionaire 1979

In a pre-credit sequence, two criminals hijack a plane and kidnap Samantha Juvett, a young woman. After parachuting out with her, they hand her over to gangsters, who then murder the kidnappers.

At a swanky hotel in a Black Sea resort, Gogu, one of the hotel’s staff, meets his uncle Marin, an Oltenian peasant who has come to visit. Gogu whispers he can sneak Marin into the hotel, since one room is empty ahead of the arrival of an American billionaire, Mr. Juvett. Marin is astonished by the glamorous outfits worn by guests and by the gadgets that fill the hotel suite, while the guests marvel at his rustic peasant clothes. In the hotel room, Marin is puzzled by the gadgets around him, a world far removed from his village ways.

Meanwhile, the gangsters learn that Juvett has arrived at the hotel. Mr. Juvett is the father of the kidnapped woman and has come to deliver a ransom that runs into the millions. A rival gang, who know about the kidnapping, plans to seize the money for themselves. They tail Marin, believing him to be Juvett.

When the real Juvett arrives, he carries a suitcase containing the ransom, which is identical to the one Marin carries, even down to its contents of leeks and cheese. He is also identical in appearance to Marin. The two gangs repeatedly mistake Marin for Juvett, while Juvett and Marin constantly swap suitcases, creating a string of escalating farcical misunderstandings that drive the hotel’s atmosphere into a lively, chaotic comedy of errors.

Meanwhile, Samantha Juvett escapes from the kidnappers and tries to locate her father. The two rival gangs agree to team up, but in reality both schemes are built on double-crosses, each side hoping to pocket all the money for themselves.

At the hotel, a mysterious American guest bearing a striking resemblance to Lt. Columbo keeps a watchful eye on the unfolding chaos. Lt. Columbo is the unmistakable look-alike who seems to guide the ebb and flow of events from a distance, adding a layer of sly, comic tension to the proceedings.

Eventually Veta, Marin’s formidable wife, arrives and helps her husband by pressing the abductors, while Columbo takes control of the ransom money. Veta and Marin are captured, but they manage to outpace the crooks by out-drinking them and turning the tables. Columbo arrests the two rival gangs, and Mr. Juvett and Samantha decide to stay in Romania a little longer, with a plan to visit Marin’s home village of Băilești.