The Secret of Santa Vittoria

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The Secret of Santa Vittoria ★★½ 1969 (PG)

Italo Bambolini (Quinn) is an amiable drunk who unexpectedly becomes the mayor of his winemaking village during WWII. Hearing the Nazis are headed toward Santa Vittoria to loot their supply of vintage wines, Italo and his savvy wife, Rosa (Magnani), enlist the villagers to hide most of the bottles in a cave outside of town, leaving a token amount to satisfy suspicious German Commander Von Prum (Kruger), who tries to learn the truth. Overly long but still amusing. Based on the novel by Robert Crichton. 139m/C VHS . Anthony Quinn, Anna Magnani, Hardy Kruger, Virna Lisi, Renato Rascel, Giancarlo Giannini, Valentina Cortese, Sergio Franchi; D: Stanley Kramer; W: William Rose, Ben Maddow; C: Giuseppe Rotunno; M: Ernest Gold.

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