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Set in a non-descript Midwestern town during the 1950s, this fable chronicles the last days in the life of local Mafioso Don Antonio Barracano (Anthony Quinn). During preparations for his 75th birthday celebration, he muses upon his life. While he thinks, his wife Armida continues her campaign to keep her eldest son from entering the family business. Trouble brews for Don Antonio when he learns that his stubborn colleague Arturo is refusing to help out his own financially strapped, estranged son who is trying to do right by his pregnant girlfriend. Don Antonio tries to restore family harmony by intervening, but his plans backfire and a tragedy ensues. The plot is adapted from Eduardo de Filippo's drama Il Sindaco del Rione Sanita (1960).