One of Kramer's better films
In the aftermath of Mussolini's removal from office, buffoonish wine merchant Anthony Quinn is made the new mayor of the small town of Santa Vittoria. Shortly after, the town learns that the German army is intending to occupy the town. Their chief resource is wine ... over 1,000,000 bottles ... that they produce and sell to Cinzano. Knowing that the Germans plan on confiscating it, they hatch a plan to hide it in old Roman caves on the edge of town.
The Germans arrive, lead by Hardy Krüger. Quinn puts on an obsequious front, allowing Krüger to believe that the few thousand bottles they have left for him to confiscate is all they have. All seems fine until word comes down to Krüger from Cinzano about how much wine the town really should have.
Like most Stanley Kramer's directorial output, this is quite a long film. Most of the reason for it's length is the large number of characters in a large number of subplots. Anna Magnani is Quinn's wife who, sick of him being a drunken clown, kicks him out of the house. Virna Lisi is the widowed contessa who falls in love with army deserter Sergio Franchi. A very young Giancarlo Giannini falls in love with Quinn's daughter.
The heart of the movie is the Quinn/Krüger interactions, and both are in top form. This is the rare Kramer film that's very light on social messages and it's kind of better for it. Shot in Italy at Cinecittà, it has wonderful cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno.
The Germans arrive, lead by Hardy Krüger. Quinn puts on an obsequious front, allowing Krüger to believe that the few thousand bottles they have left for him to confiscate is all they have. All seems fine until word comes down to Krüger from Cinzano about how much wine the town really should have.
Like most Stanley Kramer's directorial output, this is quite a long film. Most of the reason for it's length is the large number of characters in a large number of subplots. Anna Magnani is Quinn's wife who, sick of him being a drunken clown, kicks him out of the house. Virna Lisi is the widowed contessa who falls in love with army deserter Sergio Franchi. A very young Giancarlo Giannini falls in love with Quinn's daughter.
The heart of the movie is the Quinn/Krüger interactions, and both are in top form. This is the rare Kramer film that's very light on social messages and it's kind of better for it. Shot in Italy at Cinecittà, it has wonderful cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno.
- rdoyle29
- Jun 20, 2023