Plot: Bombolini is a fairly worthless drunk in the small Italian town of Santa Vittoria in the closing days of World War II. When word comes that the Fascist government has surrendered, he climbs a water tower to tear down the flag. He can't get down and someone gets the crowd to chant his name to give him confidence. The Fascist town council hears this and believes that he is the town's new leader. They surrender to him and make him the new mayor. He rises to the occasion and when he finds that the Germans plan to occupy his town and take their wine (over a million bottles) he works out a plan to hide it.
Alternative Plot: In Santa Vittoria, an Italian town renowned for its vineyards, the residents discover that the occupying Nazi troops plan to take all their wine for themselves. Determined to keep as many bottles as they can, the citizens, led by Mayor Italo Bombolini (Anthony Quinn), try to appease the Germans by offering them a generous number of cases and hiding the rest. Unfortunately, the Nazi leader, Captain Von Prum (Hardy Kruger), realizes that there is more wine, and becomes intent on finding it.
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