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