Banana Joe (1982): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1982, Banana Joe is an action and comedy film directed by Steno, running about 96 minutes.

What it’s about. Bud Spencer plays Banana Joe, a brawny yet friendly man who lives in a small rainforest village called Amantido with a huge number of his own children and regularly delivers bananas to a South American river port (hence his name). One day, the henchmen of a local gangster boss named Torsillo come ashore in Amantido to initiate the construction a banana processing plant. Of course, Joe (in typical direct-approach manner) evicts the goons, who promptly return to their boss. Torsillo finds out that Joe is trading bananas without a license and decides to exploit it. Upon his next delivery, Joe is apprehended by the police and given the choice of either acquiring a legal license or getting his boat taken away and himself arrested for illegal shipment. Joe travels to the nearest city, which to him is a new world, as he grew up in the rainforest.

Who’s in it. Banana Joe stars Bud Spencer as Banana Joe, Marina Langner as Dorianne, Mario Scarpetta as Juan Villas and Gianfranco Barra as Torquillo, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.7/10, Banana Joe has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Prime Video with Ads and rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Google Play Movies and YouTube. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Banana Joe page.

If you liked it. Fans of Banana Joe tend to enjoy The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Inception and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.