Nosey Zühtü

Zühtü sells meatballs from a cart; he is well meaning, inquisitive, and involves himself in everyone's business. Trying to help a girl he sees in difficulty, he finds himself married to her. What follows is a calculation over an inheritance: her relatives think they will get it if the couple divorce, while his relatives reckon the share will fall to them if the marriage lasts and there is a child. Caught between the two, Zühtü actually falls in love with her. Ergin Orbey directs. The screenplay is by Erdoğan Tünaş, adapted from a story by Suavi Sualp. Kemal Sunal plays Zühtü and Gölgen Bengü plays Fatma. The cast includes Ali Şen, İhsan Yüce, Şevket Altuğ, Dinçer Çekmez, Hulusi Kentmen and Sümer Tilmaç. Kemal Sunal was making films one after another in this period, and the character sits in his known shape: a man who appears simple, turns out to be right, and defeats the schemers around him without noticing. The subject is inheritance and self interest. This template, common in Turkish popular comedy, is built here through two families, and the humour comes from each side watching the other. The strength is the cast. Ali Şen, Hulusi Kentmen and İhsan Yüce were the best known character actors of the period and the scenes are largely built on them. Who it is for: viewers who like Kemal Sunal comedies and seventies Turkish popular cinema. Who it is not for: the production conditions show, the picture and sound are poor, the narrative proceeds in episodes, and the female character has a limited function.