| Serpent of the Nile | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | William Castle |
| Produced by | Sam Katzman |
| Written by | Robert E. Kent |
| Narrated by | Fred F. Sears |
| Starring | Rhonda Fleming William Lundigan Raymond Burr |
| Music by | Mischa Bakaleinikoff |
| Cinematography | Henry Freulich |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 8 May 1953 |
| Running time | 81 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Serpent of the Nile is a 1953 low budget Technicolor historical adventure film produced by Sam Katzman and directed by William Castle. The film starred Rhonda Fleming, Raymond Burr, William Lundigan and Michael Ansara. In an uncredited role, actress Julie Newmar appears as an exotic dancer clad only in gold paint.[1]
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The film opens in 44 BC, just after the assassination of Julius Caesar, and tells the story of the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra (Fleming) and her relationship with the Roman general Mark Anthony (Burr) from that time until their mutual suicide in 31 BC. It also stars William Lundigan as Lucilius and Michael Fox as Octavius.
The film had a very low budget. It was shot on the sets left over from Rita Hayworth's Salome.[2] One sequence depicts a chariot racing through the sands of Egypt towards a sand dune in the distance, behind which looms a pyramid. It is extremely obvious that this composition is a matte shot: the pyramid in the background is a superimposed painting, with the sand dune concealing the join between the live action and the matte. Elsewhere in the film, Rhonda Fleming as Cleopatra is clearly wearing a "bullet bra" of the style that was fashionable in the 1950s.
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