The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Stanley Kramer

Writers:

Robert Crichton (novel)
Ben Maddow (writer) ...

Release Date:

27 February 1970 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Tagline:

In the beginning there was Bombolini the fool, Bombolini the drunk, Bombolini the joke. In the end there was Bombolini the mayor, Bombolini the hero, Bombolini the beautiful. In between is the secret of Santa Vittoria.

Plot:

During WWII in Italy, a wine producing village hide a million bottles from the Germans

Plot Keywords:

Wine | Bottle | WWII | WWII In Italy | Italy

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Anthony Quinn	...	Italo Bombolini
Anna Magnani	...	Rosa
Virna Lisi	...	Caterina Malatesta
Hardy Krüger	...	Capt. von Prum
Sergio Franchi	...	Tufa
Renato Rascel	...	Babbaluche
Giancarlo Giannini	...	Fabio
Patrizia Valturri	...	Angela
Eduardo Ciannelli	...	Luigi
Leopoldo Trieste	...	Vittorini
Gigi Ballista	...	Pade Polenta
Quinto Parmeggiani	...	Copa
Carlo Caprioli	...	Giovanni Pietrosanto
Francesco Mulé	...	Francucci
Wolfgang Jansen	...	Sgt. Zopf

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and language.

Runtime:

139 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:M (original rating) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Anticoli Corrado, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Stanley Kramer Productions

Quotes:

Italo Bombolini: It's nice to have a hot meal before you die.
Rosa Bombolini: You aren't going to die.
Italo Bombolini: I'm the mayor, no? The Germans come. I greet them. They threaten me! I spit in their face! They put a pistol to my head and blow out my brains!
Rosa Bombolini: Why would they put a pistol to your head? The whole world knows Bombolini's brains are in his ass.

Soundtrack:

Sway (Quién será)

"There is No Wine" Says the Town Drunkard/Mayor; Wonderful Underrated Film

The book that this movie is based was one of the biggest best-sellers of the 1960's by the author of "The Great Imposter" (also adapted into a movie starring Tony Curtis). The book was hailed by one critic as giving a sense hope in a crazy world. And that's what this story is about, a kind of modern David and Golliath. Or maybe the town-drunkard-turned-mayor versus Nazi Germany.

The village of Santa Vittoria is no Rome. It's just a small town in Italy where the townspeople live very simple lives. They would be almost destitute except for one small commodity they all share: the town makes and exports wonderful wine to all parts of the world. They may not make as much as Mondavi, but it's a good living. Now, it's War World II, and the Germans have infiltrated the town. Not because they love the small-town folk of Santa Vittoria and want to protect them. They want their world-famous wine to help finance the war. But of course, the townspeople are dependent upon the wine for their livelihoods. So Anthony Quinn, perfectly cast as the town drunkard who ends up mayor, comes up with a plan. They give the Germans some of the wine and insist that they have given all the town possesses.

Hardy Kruger as the German officer in charge of the operation is unconvinced. They seemed too happy and too willing to give up their wine. He knows the townspeople are hiding more wine, and he will use all means at his disposal to retrieve every last bottle. The cat and mouse game is on! Can a bunch of simple-folk led by their clownish mayor in rural Italy outwit the likes of the German army? I vastly underrated movie that is mostly hilarious from beginning until end. There are a couple of references to torture but mostly it is quite a fun plot. Will Anthony Quinn and the town through sheer determination wear down the stubbornness of Hardy Kruger and the Germans, who seem absolutely relentless in their conviction that more wine exists? And now out on DVD!

Please vote for this movie on sites that have influence on DVD releases to get this movie available!