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The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969)

PG-13 | | Comedy , Drama , War | 27 February 1970 (Finland)
The Secret of Santa Vittoria Poster
During WWII in Italy, a wine producing village hide a million bottles from the Germans

Director:

Stanley Kramer

Writers:

Robert Crichton (novel), William Rose (screenplay by) | 1 more credit »

Stars:

Anthony Quinn, Anna Magnani, Virna Lisi | See full cast & crew »
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Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 6 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Quinn ... Bombolini
Anna Magnani ... Rosa
Virna Lisi ... Caterina
Hardy Krüger ... Capt. von Prum (as Hardy Kruger)
Sergio Franchi Sergio Franchi ... Tufa
Renato Rascel ... Babbaluche
Giancarlo Giannini ... Fabio
Patrizia Valturri Patrizia Valturri ... Angela
Eduardo Ciannelli ... Luigi
Leopoldo Trieste ... Vittorini
Gigi Ballista Gigi Ballista ... Padre Polenta
Quinto Parmeggiani Quinto Parmeggiani ... Copa
Carlo Caprioli Carlo Caprioli ... Giovanni Pietrosanto
Francesco Mulé ... Francucci
Wolfgang Jansen Wolfgang Jansen ... Sgt. Zopf
See full cast »
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Storyline

Bombolini is a fairly worthless drunk in the small Italian town of Santa Vittoria in the closing days of World War II. When word comes that the Fascist government has surrendered, he climbs a water tower to tear down the flag. He can't get down and someone gets the crowd to chant his name to give him confidence. The Fascist town council hears this and believes that he is the town's new leader. They surrender to him and make him the new mayor. He rises to the occasion and when he finds that the Germans plan to occupy his town and take their wine (over a million bottles) he works out a plan to hide it. Written by John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

wine | bottle | mayor | italy | city hall | See All (22) »

Taglines:

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. See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 February 1970 (Finland) See more »

Also Known As:

El secreto de Santa Vittoria See more »

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy See more »
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Box Office

Budget:

$6,300,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,500,000, 31 December 1969
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Stanley Kramer Productions See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the film, the exact estimate number of bottles of wine that the township of Santa Vittoria had was 1,317,000. Publicity and word of mouth for the picture frequently approximated this down to one million bottles of wine. However, one of the film's main movie posters stated that there were actually 1,184,611 bottles of wine. See more »

Goofs

When Tufa the deserter, meets Caterina after being released by the Germans, Caterina places the bread knife parallel to the side of the cutting board. Next shot, the knife is away from the cutting board with the blade pointing away from the cutting board. See more »

Quotes

Benito Mussolini: [written on the wall in the village] "It is better to live a day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep. Benito Mussolini"
Italo Bombolini: [written underneath it] "It is better to live 100 years. Italo Bombalini"
See more »

Soundtracks

The Song of Santa Vittoria (Stay)
Music by Ernest Gold
Lyrics by Norman Gimbel
Sung by Sergio Franchi
See more »

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User Reviews

 
Very good Quinn
3 November 2007 | by celebes – See all my reviews

I missed the first half hour on Turner last night, but tuned in and was thoroughly entertained. This is top notch Anthony Quinn- he is terrific, and the entire cast is excellent. Looking forward to seeing the entire film now. Unlike another reviewer, I loved his over-the-top reaction to the German Captain's telling him he wanted the village's wine. Hardy Kruger, as the captain, gives a nuanced performance that adds a great deal to the film.

One of the great joys of this movie is the Italian location and extras. The economics of contemporary movie making rarely allow for true location shooting anymore, and its too bad. As these films from the 60s and 70s age, they become increasingly valuable as an historical record.

This movie also has a wonderful heart- it's a celebration of what makes life worth living. Highly recommended.
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