The Secret of Santa Vittoria
“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.”
Stanley KramerCast
Anthony Quinn 
Anna Magnani 
Virna Lisi 
Hardy Krüger Sergio Franchi 
Renato Rascel 
Giancarlo Giannini
Credits
Written by: Robert Crichton
Plot
In 1943, the amiable town drunk Italo Bombolini is accidentally made mayor of the small Italian wine town of Santa Vittoria. When the Germans are about to occupy it and seize a million bottles of wine, the villagers decide to hide the wine in a cave. Based on Robert Crichton's novel.
Sinekatalog’s take
A warm, over-large comedy of village life under occupation, held up by Quinn's affectionate performance and Magnani's fierce one. Not the most subtle film, but a likeable one.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.
Ratings
IMDb: 7.2 / 10 (4,586 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.