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 Hitler,… 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

Rating, Runtime: Unrated,
Directed By: William A. Graham
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Nov 24, 1985 Wide

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Cast

            George C. Scott as Benito Mussolini

            Lee Grant as Rachele Mussolini

            Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Edda Mussolini-Ciano

            Virginia Madsen as Clara Petacci

            Raul Julia as Count Galeazzo

            Gabriel Byrne as Vittorio Mussolini

            Gunnar Moeller as Adolf Hitler

            Vernon Dobtcheff as Sebastiani

            Anne-Louise Lambert as Orsola

            Gina Bellman as Gena Ruberti

            Kenneth Colley as King Vittorio Emmanuele

            Michael Aldridge as Matteotti

            Annabel Leventon as Senora Petacci

            Godfrey James as Marshal Badoglio

            Wolf Kahler as Skorzeny

            Paul Herzberg as Maj. Spogler

            David Suchet as Grandi

            Paul Kehagias as Young Bruno

            Spencer Chandler as Young Vittorio

            Tracy-Louise Ward as Maria Ciano

            Constantine Gregory as Barone Russo

            Philip Madoc as Bucchini

            Tony Vogel as Tarabella

            Dee Dee Norton as Mrs. Thompson

            Steve Marshall as Romano

            George Coulouris as DeBono

            Richard Kane as Ribbentrop

            Michael MacKenzie as Amalfi

            Robert Downey Jr.
            
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