Das Geheimnis von Santa Vittoria

I never tire of seeing this film with its repeated line, "There is no wine" from Bombolini. Anthony Quinn shows his comedy character acting skills as he acts in scenes with wife, daughter and the town council. He acts the hero when is is "interrogated" by the tough guys. The only time I find fault is when he throws himself to the ground and acts the imbecile - not part of Bombolini as a character I think.

It must be said, however, that Hardy Kruger as the German commanding officer of the troops who come to occupy the town and steal its wine, is the perfect choice. Eventually he leaves town after the population have foiled his efforts to take the precious wine stocks. He turns to them in defeat, "What kind of people are you?" During the process of transporting the wine via a chain of citizens to the cave the camera shows many local faces that are utterly convincing. They are lived in, hard worn, determined faces of people who will not be beaten.

For anyone seeking to visit Santa Vittoria when in Italy - don't expect to see street scenes that you remember. They used another nearby town, whose name escapes me, for the location. However, I understand the extras were all local people.