Tea with Mussolini

Tea with Mussolini is a 1999 Anglo-Italian semi-autobiographical film directed by Franco Zeffirelli.
==Summary==
Luca, an orphaned Italian boy, is raised among a circle of British and American women living in Florence, Italy, before and during the Second World War.
==Historical context==
*Fascist Italy (1922-1943)
*Second World War (1939-1945)
==Historical events==
*Italian Campaign (1943-1945)
*Italian Resistance (1943-1945)
*Gothic Line Offensive (1944-1945)
==Production notes==
* Lady Hester Random is based upon a real resident of Florence whom Zeffirelli knew in his childhood. Zeffirelli mentions her and a couple of other ladies (called "The Scorpioni", the Scorpions) in his autobiography. He said: "I don't remember if she was called Hester, but I remember this terrible, fantastic woman. She was the dowager of the community. I remember the many outrageous things she did because she could afford to be arrogant and bossy".
* Cher has stated that the only reason she took the part of Elsa was because Franco Zeffirelli said he could only see her and no other actress in the role.
* The combat scenes late in the movie are clips from the film A Bridge Too Far (1977).
* The film cast includes three Oscar winners (Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Judi Dench, and Cher) and two Oscar nominees (Dame Joan Plowright and Lily Tomlin).
* Dame Maggie Smith starred in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) as another misguided woman who worships Mussolini.
==Starring==
* Joan Plowright as Mary Wallace
* Maggie Smith as Lady Hester Random
* Cher as Elsa Morganthal Strauss-Armistan
* Judi Dench as Arabella
* Lily Tomlin as Georgina 'Georgie' Rockwell
* Tessa Pritchard as Connie Raynor
* Baird Wallace as Luca Innocente
* Charlie Lucas as Luca Innocente
* Paul Chequer as Wilfred 'Lucy' Random
* Paolo Seganti as Vittorio Fanfanni
* Mino Bellei as Cesare
* Massimo Ghini as Paolo Guarnieri Innocente
* Michael Williams as the British Consul
* Claudio Spadaro as Benito Mussolini
* Pino Colizzi as Dino Grandi
==External Links==
* Tea with Mussolini on iMDB
* Tea with Mussolini on Wikipedia
Category:Films
Category:Interwar Period
Category:Second World War
Category:Fascist Italy
Category:Gothic Line
Category:1930s
Category:1940s