It stars Kiyoshi Atsumi as Torajirō Kuruma (Tora-san), and Fumie Kashiyama as his love interest or "Madonna".

[2] Tora-san, the Intellectual is the sixteenth entry in the popular, long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo series.

Tora-san returns to his family's shop in Shibamata, Tokyo to find himself accused of being the father of a 17-year-old girl.

Tora-san becomes infatuated with the female archeology student who is staying with his family, and attempts to take up intellectual pursuits to get near her.

The review commented that Yoji Yamada's script was "convoluted" and the directing "uneven", but that "Mr. Yamada is decidedly professional in shaping a colorful and briskly moving story," and that the film as a whole "project[s] contemporary Japanese family life and ties realistically and affectionately.