Vittorio Mussolini

Vittorio Mussolini (27 September 1916 – 12 June 1997) was an Italian film critic and producer. He was also the second son of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. However, he was the first officially acknowledged son of Mussolini, with his second wife Rachele; his older half-brother was never officially acknowledged by Mussolini's fascist regime.

Biography

Vittorio Mussolini was born in Milan, Lombardy, Kingdom of Italy (Regno d'Italia). He married Milanese Orsola Buvoli Mussolini (1914–2009), two years his senior. In January 1938, Mussolini and his wife announced the birth of their first child, a son. Guido Mussolini was born in Rome.

In addition to producing films, the heavy-set Mussolini served as a Lieutenant (Tenente) in the Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica). He flew during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, the Spanish Civil War, and World War II. In Ethiopia, both he and his younger brother Bruno crewed bombers. Unlike his brother, Vittorio was not considered a serious pilot. Vittorio made a spectacle of himself describing bombs as "budding roses" and killing as "exceptionally good fun."

Mussolini worked with many of Italy's best film artists. Different projects with which he was involved included the efforts of Federico Fellini, Roberto Rosselini, and Michelangelo Antonioni.

After the war, Mussolini emigrated to Argentina, later returning to Italy. Vittorio was briefly involved with Hal Roach in a company that was named R.A.M. Pictures (for "Roach and Mussolini"), although Roach bought himself out of the deal after being heavily ostracized within Hollywood. He was the editor of the film journal Cinema, and was involved with the Italian film studio Cinecittà.

Vittorio Mussolini died on 12 June 1997 at age 80 in a Rome clinic after a long illness.

Publications

Mussolini was the author of a 1973 book on the women in his father's life entitled Mussolini: The Tragic Women in His Life.

Selected filmography

• Luisa Sanfelice (1942)
• Knights of the Desert (1942)