The Secret of Santa Vittoria
| The Secret of Santa Vittoria | |
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 original film poster by Bob Peak |
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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) | October 29, 1969 |
| Running time | 139 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
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. It was based on the best-selling 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, Hardy Krüger, and Sergio Franchi. Co-starring Renato Rascel, Giancarlo Giannini, and Eduardo Ciannelli; with Valentina Cortese making an uncredited appearance. The film was almost entirely shot on location in Anticoli Corrado, Italy (near Rome).
The World Premiere of the film was held in Los Angeles on October 20, 1969. Television coverage included a special split-screen selection during the Joey Bishop Show. Army Archerd, Regis Philbin and Buddy Hackett interviewed Stanley Kramer, Anthony Quinn, Virna Lisi, and Sergio Franchi from Los Angeles.[1] The premier was held to benefit the Reiss-Davis Child Study Center-- with Gregory Peck as chairman. The event ended with an celebration at the Century Plaza Hotel.[2] This film was selected as the opening night film for the 13th Annual San Francisco International Film Festival. The Festival ran from October 23, 1969 through November 2, 1969.[3]
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[edit] Plot
This story is set during World War II in the summer of 1943, in the aftermath of the fall of the Fascist government of Benito Mussolini. The German army uses the ensuing political vacuum to occupy most of the peninsula of Italy.
Italo Bombolini (Anthony Quinn), the mayor of the wine-making hill town of Santa Vittoria, learns that the German occupation forces want to take all of Santa Vittoria's wine with them. The townspeople frantically hide a million bottles in a cave before the arrival of a German army detachment under the command of Sepp Von Prum (Hardy Krüger).
The Germans are given a few thousand bottles, but Von Prum knows there is a lot more. The two very different men engage in a battle of wits. Finally, with time running out, a frustrated Von Prum threatens to shoot Bombolini unless the hidden wine is given, but no one speaks up. Not being a fanatic, Von Prum leaves without harming the mayor.
[edit] Cast
- Anthony Quinn as Italo Bombolini
- Anna Magnani as Rosa Bombolini, his disapproving wife
- Virna Lisi as Caterina Malatesta
- Hardy Krüger as Sepp Von Prum
- Sergio Franchi as Tufa
- Renato Rascel as Babbaluche
- Giancarlo Giannini as Fabio
- Patrizia Valturri as Angela
- Eduardo Ciannelli as Luigi
- Leopoldo Trieste as Vittorini
- Gigi Ballista as Padre Polenta
- Valentina Cortese as Gabriella
- Quinto Parmeggiani as Copa
- Curt Lowens as Col. Scheer
- Wolfgang Jansen as Zopf
- Peter Kuiper as Traub
- Pino Ferrara as Dr. Bara
- Aldo De Carellis as Old Vines
- Carlo Capannelle as Capoferro
[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). It was nominated for an Eddie award by the American Cinema Editors, USA for best edited feature film.[4]
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 ("Stay", Ernest Gold and Norman Gimbel)
[edit] Curiosity
In Italy exist the real Santa Vittoria farm that still produce the Santa Vittoria wines. The farm is older than the film. It was built 300 years ago in the same place of Battle of Scannagallo (1554) in Foiano della Chiana, Arezzo.
[edit] References
- ^ "TV Listings." (October 20, 1969). The Seattle Times, Seattle, WA
- ^ "Secret Premier to Benefit Study Center." (September 13, 1969) Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA.
- ^ "Secret Picked for Festival." (August 2, 1969). The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, TX
- ^ http://www.imdb.com
[edit] External links
- The Secret of Santa Vittoria at the Internet Movie Database
- The Secret of Santa Vittoria at AllRovi
- The Secret of Santa Vittoria at the TCM Movie Database
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