The day of celebration turns out to be a failure: Pellecchia is frustrated in his attempts to give a speech from the balcony of the town hall as Scannagatti inadvertently prevents him by making the band play his works continuously, until the Italian-American leaves enraged.

A day later Scannagatti attempts to collect his reward – the coveted recommendation – and joins Poldo and Poppy, who have left Caianello and are guests at a bizarre house party held by a rich heiress in Capri.

Further complications arise when Scannagatti is intercepted by his Sicilian brother-in-law – whose money he has stolen for the trip to Milan – who threatens to kill him; to appease him, the maestro pretends to have obtained a contract and takes him to a musical performance, but of a teatro dei pupi.

By chance Tiscordi reads one of the scores left in his office by Scannagatti and is delighted by it, offering him a publishing contract and the fame he has always desired: in the end, the whole town of Caianello – his brother-in-law included – pays homage to their "Swan".

[1] The movie was shot with the Ferraniacolor system, which required extremely powerful lighting; this was especially painful for Totò – already suffering from long-term eye problems – and is credited for accelerating his loss of vision.