The Secret of Santa Vittoria
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| The Secret of Santa Vittoria | |
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 DVD Cover |
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| Directed by | Stanley Kramer |
| Produced by | Stanley Kramer George Glass |
| Written by | Ben Maddow William Rose Robert Crichton (novel) |
| Starring | Anthony Quinn Anna Magnani Virna Lisi Hardy Krüger Sergio Franchi |
| Music by | Ernest Gold |
| Cinematography | Giuseppe Rotunno |
| Editing by | Earle Herdan William A. Lyon |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) |  29 October 1969 |
| Running time | 139 min |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Secret of Santa Vittoria is a 1969 film made by Stanley Kramer Productions and distributed by United Artists. It was produced and directed by Stanley Kramer and co-produced by George Glass from a screenplay by Ben Maddow and William Rose based on the novel by Robert Crichton. The music score was by Ernest Gold and the cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno.
The film stars Anthony Quinn, Anna Magnani, Virna Lisi and Hardy Krüger with Sergio Franchi, Renato Rascel, Giancarlo Giannini and Eduardo Ciannelli with Valentina Cortese making an uncredited appearance.
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[edit] Plot
The film is set at the end of World War II in the small village of Santa Vittoria in Italy.
When Italo Bombolini (Anthony Quinn) hears that Mussolini has been killed, he tries to erase a pro-Fascist slogan from the village's water tower. The villagers shout encouragement at him and, mistaking this for a sign of popularity, the town council surrender to him and he becomes the new mayor by accident. His wife Rosa (Anna Magnani) throws him out of their wine shop when he and his friends celebrate and he gives away too much wine. When he hears the retreating Nazi Army will soon be in town, Bombolini asks the advice of a wounded soldier and mobilises hundreds of villagers to transfer the wine from the cellar to a cave. The people work day and night, hiding over a million bottles just before the Nazis arrive. SS officers threaten death to anyone who withholds the wine. Italo presents a single bottle to their irate leader, Capt. Sepp von Prum (Hardy Krüger), and the frustrated Germans are powerless to force the villagers to produce the bottles. Eventually, the Germans give up, but the captain does not. He decides to make a martyr and execute the wounded soldier if no-one reveals to him the whereabouts of the wine. But the soldier is saved by the intervention of Caterina (Virna Lisi) who sleeps with von Prum on the condition that he free the soldier. The captain must leave the village empty-handed.
[edit] Cast
- Anthony Quinn - Italo Bombolini
- Anna Magnani - Rosa Bombolini
- Virna Lisi - Caterina Malatesta
- Hardy Krüger - Sepp Von Prum
- Sergio Franchi - Tufa
- Renato Rascel - Babbaluche
- Giancarlo Giannini - Fabio
- Patrizia Valturri - Angela
- Eduardo Ciannelli - Luigi Lunghetti
- Leopoldo Trieste - Vittorini
- Gigi Ballista - Padre Polenta
- Valentina Cortese - Gabriella
[edit] Awards and nominations
- The film was nominated for two Academy Awards for Film Editing (William A. Lyon and Earle Herdan) and Best Music Score(Ernest Gold).
- The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Comedy and was nominated for Best Director (Stanley Kramer), Best Actor Comedy (Anthony Quinn), Best Actress Comedy (Anna Magnani). Best Original Score (Ernest Gold) and Best Original Song (Ernest Gold and Norman Gimbel)
[edit] External links
Not as a Stranger • The Pride and the Passion • The Defiant Ones • On the Beach • Inherit the Wind • Judgment at Nuremberg • It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World • Ship of Fools • Guess Who's Coming to Dinner • The Secret of Santa Vittoria • R.P.M. • Bless the Beasts & Children • Oklahoma Crude • The Domino Principle • The Runner Stumbles
