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The Secret of Santa Vittoria

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If you loved Anthony Quinn in "Zorba", you will adore him in "The Secret of Santa Vittoria". This gem from 1969 is a serio-comic look at the Nazi's occupation of a little mountain village in Italy during WWII.

The people of Santa Vittoria have a treasure, and it is so dear to them, they will protect it at great lengths. The treasure... well over a million bottles of the special wine, the little town of grape growers produces to deal with the "Cinzano" wine company. This business is all they have to keep their little city alive.

Having just learned from Fabio, the only University student from Santa Vittoria, the the Fascist regime has just fallen, the villagers now learn of a new problem..The Nazi's will be coming to occupy their little town, and more specifically, they will be confiscating the wine.

They turn to the newly appointed, and constantly drunk Mayor..Italio Bombolini(Quinn). How can these simple people outfox the Germans? Where, Mathamatically, can they hide a million bottles of wine? And how will they move it all? Watching it all come together is a captivating, moving and fun view.

Bombolini is the perect name for this bumbling fool. It is an absolute thrill to watch this performance of Quinn's, as he turns from the town clown to a hero of great esteem. His antics will have you laughing out loud, his loyalty to his people will paste a smile on your face, and his bravery as he stands alone against the Nazi's threats and retaliations will have you rooting for him and Santa Vittoria all the way. We are even treated to a bit of his wonderful dance. Quinn is not alone in making this film a must see, Anna Magnani adds her special talents as well. She is magnificent as Rosa Bombolini, the long suffering wife of the town clown. When it comes to Italio, her tounge is as sharp as her aim, as Quinn ducks the insults and the pots and pans coming his way as well. Virna Lisi adds her beauty and turns in a fabulous performance as the "Contessa" and Directed by the great Stanley Kramer, it is simply perfection. The cinematogrpahy and the music by Ernest Gold(nominated for an Oscar) also add greatly to the total feel of the story.

The comedy is wonderful, but there is also a serious side. The little town must make sacrifices, as they are also subjected to the brutalities of the war.

The film, by the way, took home a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture(Musical/Comedy). At nearly two and half hours,it's a feel good film, and I didn't want it to end. Hopefully this film will be restored and transfered to DVD soon. In the meantime, try and catch it on Turner, or look for a good deal on the VHS.

Get the pasta (or popcorn) and a glass of wine, and enjoy Italy for a while!.....Laurie

I read the book as well, and this one breaks the usual "the-book-was-better" pattern. The movie replaces the allied bomber crew member, who bailed out of his plane, with the Italian army deserter, a great improvement for the plot. Being a third generation Italian who has seen the first generation who came to the US before 1920, I can say, the director must have gone to great lengths to find a village and extras to fit the story because I have seen them and they are priceless.
PS. And in the book, the Germans were more ruthless.

Update: It has been issued on DVD, and I obtained a copy from amazon in March of 2008.

I saw this film in the 70s and it still remains with me. It's World War II and an Italian village famous for its wine is celebrating the overthrow of Mussolini's government. Villagers arrest the local fascist officials and, in a silly mood, elect the town drunk Bombalini, played brilliantly by Anthony Quinn, to be mayor. Later the party is spoiled when German army move in to occupy the territory. The occupiers want to steal the village wine supply and send it to Germany for the enjoyment of the Nazi officer troops. Bombalini must now rise to the challenge of taking his job seriously in order to outsmart the Germans and protect the wine -- his town's livelihood. This is a charming and inspiring story and telling of Italian ingenuity. Other cast members are Giancarlo Giannini and Sergio Franchi.

This is one of the most memorable movies of the 1960's. The performances are outstanding - Quin and Lisi are an excellent combination. I am watching Amazon for the release of this movie on DVD but to no avail. PLEASE make it available in dvd. It will be a trip down memory lane.

Wine enthusiasts will enjoy this movie as will those familiar with small town politics whether in the USA or abroad. This movie features a top flight cast in a unique story. It falters only near the climax if the viewer cannot ignore the probability that real life Nazis would have been more ruthless in their pursuit of one million bottles of wine the villagers are attempting to hide. Still, it's worth the trip for the performances of Anthony Quinn, et al. A shame that this film is no longer available on VHS.

This is a real tongue in cheek humor film. Set in WWII Italy, the villiage "bobo" is set up to be a foil with the occuping German forces who wish to accquire the town's supply of wine. Anthony Quinn plays the part of the "bobo" and is an excellent foil against the German officer and his men. Complete with twists and turns at every corner, everyone wins, no one looses and the viewer is left with warm fuzzy feelings and a smile on her/his face.

The movie sticks very close to the book and Anthony Quinn portrays the town clown so well that it is surprising that he can fool the Germans into thinking "There is no wine." The Italian villagers (because of their very simplicity) make excellent opponents to the German officer who tries to find the wine. Altogether a pleasing movie for the whole family.

When Fabio (Giancarlo Giannini) came screaming Mussolini's death, the villagers of Santa Vittoria were quiet indifferent... But when he returned much later shouting that the Germans are coming to take the wine of Santa Vittoria, this was different! It was the beginning of an amazing adventure...

Italo Bombolini (Anthony Quinn), is the beloved mayor of the hillside village of Santa Vittorio... He is in terrible crisis... Where to hide his precious wine? l,317,000 bottles more or less...

Tufa (Sergio Franchi), who has deserted the crumbling Italian army and has returned home in despair, recommends him to conceal a million bottles of wine in the tunnels of an old Roman cave outside of Santa Vittoria, and to hide them in such a way, that "if" the Germans enter the cave looking for the wine, 'they will see an empty cave!'

Rosa (Anna Magnani) enlists the entire town for that purpose... When German commander Sepp Von Prum (Hardy Kruger) arrives, it becomes a battle of wits for the possession of the wine...

Von Prum is distracted in his search by Bombolini's protests of ignorance and by the Contessa's obvious charms... The local Contessa, Caterina Malatesta is played by the exquisite blonde Virna Lisi...

The last scene of the film is hilarious!

We see the German Officer leaving, and Bombolini - a bottle of wine in his hand - addressing him: 'To the captain, from the people of Santa Vittoria. It's not a great wine but it's not bad!'

The captain receives the bottle whispering to Bombolini: 'You're sure you can spare it?'

Bombolini replies: 'Oh, there's one million more where this came from.'

You can imagine the face of Hardy Kruger--extremely good as the German Captain...

Maybe the film is too long... But it is a great joy to see two legendary stars, Quinn and Magnani, dancing with the whole town of Santa Vittoria...

Great score... Great fun!

This is a must see movie that is a true Anthony Quinn classic. And all the actors are great in this movie that is both hilarious and dramatic since it takes place during the Second World War. I, and many of my friends and family, would love to see this movie come on DVD. I could see this movie over and over again and never get tired of it.

The background and subplots are sensitive and intensely emotional, which slows down the story, but the excellent humour and overall quality of the movie more than compensates for these distractions.

While the story is entertaining and compelling in itself, it also deals with a number of compelling moral issues.

The scenes swiftly change between agony and outrageous hilarity.

The hero classically and dramatically demonstrates the adage that a book should not be judged by its' cover.