Tea with Mussolini (1999) on Netflix
Englishwomen settled in Florence, called the Scorpioni, gather for afternoon tea in 1935. Motherless Luca, whose Italian father has little time for him, comes into the care of Mary Wallace.
- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb6.9/1013,949 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes65%
Trailer
Plot summary
Florence, 1935. Each afternoon the Scorpioni, a circle of English women living in the city, meet for tea. Mary Wallace, secretary to an Italian businessman, takes charge of his adolescent son Luca, whose dressmaker mother has died and whose father has left the boy's upbringing to others. Her friends help, among them Arabella, an aspiring artist. Elsa Morganthal, a rich young American widow, arranges a trust fund for the boy out of fondness for his mother. One afternoon the café is attacked by Fascists, and the expatriates see how exposed their position has become. Lady Hester Random, widow of Britain's former ambassador, admires Benito Mussolini and recalls a tea she once took with him. Luca's father, deciding Italy's future lies with Germany, sends the boy to school in Austria.
Cast
- Baird Wallaceas Luca
- Charlie Lucasas Luca (Child)
- Paul Chequeras Wilfred Random, aka Miss Lucy
- Tessa Pritchardas Connie Raynor
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Tea with Mussolini (1999)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Lady Hester Random is based on a real resident of Florence whom Zeffirelli knew in his childhood; in his autobiography he recalled a terrible, fantastic woman who "was the dowager of the community" and could afford to be arrogant and bossy.
- Michael Williams, who was married to Judi Dench in real life, died not long after the film was finished, and it marks his last screen appearance.
- Angela Lansbury was offered the role of Mary Wallace in Tea with Mussolini, but had to drop out of the film when her husband became ill.
- The film opened tenth at the U.S. box office with $1,633,183 for the weekend, but eventually grossed $45,566,200 worldwide, considerably more than its budget.
