A story of civilized disobedience
In 1930s fascist Italy, adolescent Luca just lost his mother. His father, a callous businessman, sends him to be taken care of by British expatriate Mary Wallace. Mary and her cultured friends - including artist Arabella, young widow Elsa, and archaeologist Georgie - keep a watchful eye over the boy. But the women's cultivated lives take a dramatic turn when Allied forces declare war on Mussolini.
Tea with Mussolini (1999) is a comedy, drama and war film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, released on March 25, 1999 with a runtime of 1h 57m. It stars Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Cher. Viewers rate it 6.4 out of 10 across 161 ratings.
Maggie Smith
as Lady Hester Random
Judi Dench
as Arabella
Joan Plowright
as Mary Wallace
Cher
as Elsa Strauss-Almerson
Lily Tomlin
as Georgina "Georgie" Rockwell
Baird Wallace
as Luca
Charlie Lucas
as Luca (Child)
Michael Williams
as British Consul
Paul Chequer
as Wilfred Random, aka Miss Lucy
Massimo Ghini
as Paolo
Paolo Seganti
as Vittorio Fanfanni
Tessa Pritchard
as Connie Raynor
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli, written by John Mortimer and Franco Zeffirelli, produced by Marco Chimenz, Clive Parsons and Frederick Muller.
Average viewer score of 6.4/10 from 161 ratings.
The “Scorpioni” are a bunch of entitled and privileged British women who live in Florence in the 1930s under the leadership of “Lady Hester” (Dame Maggie Smith). She is the widow of the former British Ambassador and is not entirely unsympathetic to the aspirations of “Il Duce”. Occasionally, they have to tolerate the interloping presence of the brash and wealthy American actress “Elsa” (Cher) but even with the…
Reviewed on December 20, 2025
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Tea with Mussolini (1999) is currently available to rent or buy from Amazon Video. No subscription streaming option is listed right now, so availability may change.
The main cast of Tea with Mussolini (1999) includes Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, Cher and Lily Tomlin. The film was directed by Franco Zeffirelli. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
Tea with Mussolini was released on March 25, 1999 and runs for 1h 57m.
Tea with Mussolini (1999) holds an average rating of 6.4 out of 10 from 161 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy comedy, drama and war films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
