Mussolini: The Untold Story (1985)
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The story in this two-part TV biopic was probably "untold" mainly because it was untrue. According to the revisionist script by Stirling Silliphant, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (overplayed by George C. Scott) may have been a fascist, a tyrant, a mass murderer and an intimate of Adolf… More The story in this two-part TV biopic was probably "untold" mainly because it was untrue. According to the revisionist script by Stirling Silliphant, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (overplayed by George C. Scott) may have been a fascist, a tyrant, a mass murderer and an intimate of Adolf Hitler, but he also had his warm and fuzzy side. This was manifested in his genuine love for his gorgeous mistress Clara Petacci (Virginia Madsen), whose devotion to Il Duce was equally strong, so much so that she willingly went to her death along with him when the Axis collapsed and the ex-dictator was summarily shot. Despite his extramarital shenanigans, Mussolini had plenty of affection left over for his long-suffering wife Rachel (Lee Grant) and his children. With a cast comprised largely of non-Italians (notably the aggressively Irish Gabriel Byrne as Mussolini's son Vittorio), this epic had more phony dialects than a Marx Bros. picture. Despite its distant relation to the facts and its flaccid treatment of one of history's darkest periods, Mussolini: The Untold Story (filmed not in Italy but in Yugoslavia) garnered respectable ratings when it was originally telecast by NBC on November 24 and 26, 1985--and also earned a brace of Emmy award nominations. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- William A. Graham
- Genres
- Drama
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Nov 24, 1985 Wide
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Cast
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George C. Scott
as Benito Mussolini
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Lee Grant
as Rachele Mussolini
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Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
as Edda Mussolini-Ciano
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Virginia Madsen
as Clara Petacci
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Raul Julia
as Count Galeazzo
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Gabriel Byrne
as Vittorio Mussolini
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Gunnar Moeller
as Adolf Hitler
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Vernon Dobtcheff
as Sebastiani
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Anne-Louise Lambert
as Orsola
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Gina Bellman
as Gena Ruberti
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Kenneth Colley
as King Vittorio Emmanuele
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Michael Aldridge
as Matteotti
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Annabel Leventon
as Senora Petacci
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Godfrey James
as Marshal Badoglio
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Wolf Kahler
as Skorzeny
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Paul Herzberg
as Maj. Spogler
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David Suchet
as Grandi
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Paul Kehagias
as Young Bruno
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Spencer Chandler
as Young Vittorio
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Tracy-Louise Ward
as Maria Ciano
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Constantine Gregory
as Barone Russo
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Philip Madoc
as Bucchini
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Tony Vogel
as Tarabella
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Dee Dee Norton
as Mrs. Thompson
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Steve Marshall
as Romano
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George Coulouris
as DeBono
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Richard Kane
as Ribbentrop
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Michael MacKenzie
as Amalfi
- Robert Downey Jr.
