Caesar and Cleopatra (film)

Caesar and Cleopatra
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Gabriel Pascal
Produced by	Gabriel Pascal
Written by	George Bernard Shaw
Starring	Claude Rains Vivien Leigh
Music by	Georges Auric
Cinematography	Jack Hildyard
Edited by	Frederick Wilson Joan Warwick
Production company	Gabriel Pascal Productions
Distributed by	Eagle-Lion Films (UK) United Artists (US)
Release dates	1945 (UK) 1948 (France)
Running time	123 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$5.2 million[1] or £1.3 million[2]
Box office	$2,250,000 (US rentals)[3] 815,007 admissions (France)[4]

Caesar and Cleopatra is a 1945 British Technicolor film directed by Gabriel Pascal and starring Claude Rains and Vivien Leigh.^[5] It was adapted from the play Caesar and Cleopatra (1901) by George Bernard Shaw. The film was produced by Independent Producers, Pascal Film Productions, and Eagle-Lion Distributors.

Caesar and Cleopatra was a box office failure, but it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction (John Bryan).^[6]

Plot

In this philosophical coming-of-age film, an aging Julius Caesar takes possession of the Egyptian capital city of Alexandria, and tries to resolve a feud between young Princess Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy. During the resulting sometimes-murderous court intrigues, Caesar develops a special relationship with Cleopatra, and teaches her how to use her royal power.

Production

Filmed in Technicolor with lavish sets, the production was reported to be the most expensive film ever made in Britain at the time, coming to £1,278,000.^[7]

Pascal ordered sand from Egypt to get the right cinematic color. The production also ran into delays due to being filmed during the Second World War.^[8] During the shoot, Vivien Leigh tripped and miscarried.^[1]

The film was described as a "box office stinker" at the time, and almost ended Pascal's career. It was the first Shaw film made in colour, and the last film version of a Shaw play during his lifetime. After Shaw's death in 1950, Pascal went on to produce one more Shaw derived film, Androcles and the Lion (1952).

Cast

• Claude Rains as Julius Caesar, Roman conqueror.
• Vivien Leigh as Cleopatra, young queen of Egypt.
• Stewart Granger as Apollodorus, a patrician amateur of the arts.
• Flora Robson as Ftatateeta, Cleopatra's nurse, who murders her enemies on command.
• Francis L. Sullivan as Pothinus, Egyptian courtier, tutor and guardian of Cleopatra's brother Ptolemy XIII.
• Basil Sydney as Rufio, Roman general.
• Cecil Parker as Britannus, Brittanic slave to Caesar.
• Stanley Holloway as Belzanor.
• Raymond Lovell as Lucius Septimus, Roman occupier of Egypt.
• Ernest Thesiger as Theodotus, Greek savant.
• Anthony Harvey as Ptolemy, child king of Egypt.
• Leo Genn as bearer of evil tidings
• Jean Simmons as Harpist.
• Michael Rennie as Quayside Centurion.
• Ronald Shiner as Second Porter.
• Roger Moore as Extra (uncredited).

Reception

The film earned US$1,363,371 in the United States, making it one of the most popular British films ever released there.^[9] It did however fall short of initial expectations.^[10]

See also

• Cultural depictions of Julius Caesar
• Cultural depictions of Cleopatra VII
• List of films based on military books (pre-1775)

References

Bibliography

• The Great British Films, pp 97–101, Jerry Vermilye, 1978, Citadel Press, ISBN 0-8065-0661-X

External links

• Caesar and Cleopatra at AllMovie
• Caesar and Cleopatra at the British Film Institute's Film and TV Database
• Caesar and Cleopatra at the Internet Movie Database
• Caesar and Cleopatra at the TCM Movie Database
• Movie Production Stills 1
• Movie Production Stills 2
• Trailer for Caesar and Cleopatra (Video)
• Gabriel Pascal directs Shaw's 'Caesar and Cleopatra' 1945 on YouTube (Newsreel)
• Film Facts
• Pascal with Jean Simmons at premiere 13 December 1945