''A Queen for Caesar'' ( it, Una regina per Cesare, french: Cléopâtre une reine pour César) is a 1962 Italian-French

historical drama film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

directed by

Piero Pierotti Piero Pierotti (1 January 1912 – 4 May 1970) was an Italian director, screenwriter and journalist. Life and career Born in Pisa, Pierotti started his career as a journalist, working for ''La Nazione'' and ''Il Nuovo Corriere'', and later fo ...

and

Victor Tourjansky The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

and starring Pascale Petit,

George Ardisson Giorgio Ardisson, best known as George Ardisson (31 December 1931 – 11 December 2014), was an Italian actor. Life and career Born in Turin, Ardisson debuted in a minor role in Mauro Bolognini's 1959 film ''Arrangiatevi!''. After several ...

and Rik Battaglia. It is set in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

in 48 BC. Unlike other films about

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...

and

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

, this film focuses entirely on the dynastic struggle within Egypt leading up to the arrival of Caesar, and in fact, we only see him in the closing scene of the film when he arrives at the Ptolemaic Palace in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

. This film was shot at the Incir De Paolis Studios in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

bought the rights for the film to keep it out of release lest it compete with their own

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

''.p.173 Hatchuel, Sarah ''Shakespeare and the Cleopatra/Caesar Intertext: Sequel, Conflation, Remake'' Rowman & Littlefield, 16/07/2011

Cast

* Pascale Petit as

Achillas Achillas ( el, Ἀχιλλᾶς) was one of the guardians of the Egyptian king Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, and commander of the king's troops, when Pompey fled to Egypt in 48 BC. He was called by Julius Caesar a man of extraordinary daring, a ...

* Rik Battaglia as

Lucius Septimius Lucius Septimius was a Roman soldier and mercenary who is principally remembered as one of the assassins of the triumvir Pompey the Great. At the time of the assassination (48 BC) Septimius was serving the Ptolemies of Egypt as a mercenary. He ...

Akim Tamiroff Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character act ...

as Gnaeus Pompeius *

Gordon Scott Gordon Scott (born Gordon Merrill Werschkul; August 3, 1926 – April 30, 2007) was an American film and television actor known for his portrayal of the fictional character Tarzan in five films (and one compilation of three made-as-a ...

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

Corrado Pani Corrado Pani (4 March 1936 – 2 March 2005) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Rome, Pani began his career playing the role of Jesus as a child in a Radio Vaticana radio drama. He made his film debut in 1953, with ...

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

* Franco Volpi as Apollodoros *

Ennio Balbo Ennio Balbo (18 April 1922 – 18 June 1989) was an Italian film, television and voice actor. Biography Born in Naples, Balbo made his debut on stage immediately after the Second World War alongside Paola Borboni and Lamberto Picasso in Lu ...

as Theodotos *

Nerio Bernardi Nerio Bernardi (23 July 1899 – 12 January 1971) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in nearly 200 films between 1918 and 1970. He was born in Bologna, Italy and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''Nero'' (1922) * ''The Sheph ...

as Scaurus * Aurora de Alba as Rabis *

Nando Angelini Nando Angelini (17 August 1933 – 7 August 2020) was an Italian actor. He appeared in more than eighty films since 1957. Life and career Born in San Benedetto del Tronto, Angelini enrolled at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, graduatin ...

Sextus Pompeius Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius ( 67 – 35 BC), also known in English as Sextus Pompey, was a Roman military leader who, throughout his life, upheld the cause of his father, Pompey the Great, against Julius Caesar and his supporters during the las ...

Nino Marchetti Nino or Niño may refer to: * Nino (name) * Niño (name) *Antonin Scalia, American Supreme Court justice whose nickname was "Nino" *El Niño, a climate pattern in the tropical Pacific Ocean *NINO, an abbreviation for National Insurance number in t ...

as Pompey's messenger

Notes

External links

* 1962 films Peplum films Films directed by Victor Tourjansky Films directed by Piero Pierotti Films scored by Michel Michelet Depictions of Cleopatra on film Depictions of Julius Caesar on film 1960s Italian-language films 1960s historical drama films French historical drama films Italian historical drama films Sword and sandal films 1960s Italian films 1960s French films {{1960s-Italy-film-stub

Cast

See also

Notes

External links