''Caesar and Cleopatra'' is a 1945 British

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

film directed by

Gabriel Pascal Gabriel Pascal (born Gábor Lehel; 4 June 1894 – 6 July 1954) was a Hungarian film producer and director whose best-known films were made in the United Kingdom. Pascal was the first film producer to successfully bring the plays of Georg ...

and starring

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967; born Vivian Mary Hartley), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, for her definitive performances as Scarlett O'Hara in '' Go ...

and

Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...

. Some scenes were directed by

Brian Desmond Hurst Brian Desmond Hurst (12 February 1895 – 26 September 1986) was a Belfast-born film director. With over thirty films in his filmography, Hurst has been hailed as Northern Ireland's best film director.Screening will honour 'NI's best film ...

, who took no formal credit. The picture was adapted from the play '' Caesar and Cleopatra'' (1901) by

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

, produced by Independent Producers and Pascal Film Productions and distributed by Eagle-Lion Distributors. Upon release, ''Caesar and Cleopatra'' failed to earn back its colossal budget. John Bryan was nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

for Best Art Direction.

Plot

Aging

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, an ...

takes possession of the Egyptian capital city of

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, Alexandri ...

and tries to resolve a feud between the young princess

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 ...

and her younger brother

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 importance ...

. Caesar develops a special relationship with Cleopatra and teaches her how to use her royal power.

Cast

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, an ...

* Stewart Granger as Apollodorus *

Flora Robson Dame Flora McKenzie Robson (28 March 19027 July 1984) was an English actress and star of the theatrical stage and cinema, particularly renowned for her performances in plays demanding dramatic and emotional intensity. Her range extended from q ...

as Ftatateeta * Francis L. Sullivan as

Pothinus Pothinus or Potheinos ( grc-gre, Ποθεινὸς; early 1st century BC – 48 or 47 BC), a eunuch, was regent for Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. He is most remembered for turning Ptolemy against his sister an ...

* Basil Sydney as Rufio *

Cecil Parker Cecil Parker (born Cecil Schwabe, 3 September 1897 – 20 April 1971) was an English actor with a distinctively husky voice, who usually played supporting roles, often characters with a supercilious demeanour, in his 91 films made between ...

as Britannus * Raymond Lovell as Lucius Septimus *

Anthony Eustrel Anthony Eustrel (12 October 1902 – 2 July 1979) was an English actor. Eustrel made guest appearances on television programs such as ''Perry Mason'', '' Maverick'', ''Peter Gunn'', ''77 Sunset Strip'', ''My Favorite Martian'', ''Hogan's Heroes' ...

as Achillas *

Ernest Thesiger Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger, CBE (15 January 1879 – 14 January 1961) was an English stage and film actor. He is noted for his performance as Doctor Septimus Pretorius in James Whale's film ''Bride of Frankenstein'' (1935). Biography ...

as Theodotus *

Anthony Harvey Anthony Harvey (3 June 1930 – 23 November 2017) was an English filmmaker who began his career as a teenage actor, was a film editor in the 1950s and moved into directing in the mid-1960s. Harvey had fifteen film credits as an editor, and he ...

* Robert Adams as Nubian Slave * Olga Edwardes * Harda Swanhilde as Cleopatra's Lady Attendants *

Michael Rennie Michael Rennie (born Eric Alexander Rennie; 25 August 1909 – 10 June 1971) was a British film, television and stage actor, who had leading roles in a number of Hollywood films, including his portrayal of the space visitor Klaatu in the s ...

as 1st Centurion * James McKechnie as 2nd Centurion *

Esme Percy Saville Esmé Percy (8 August 1887 – 17 June 1957) was an English actor who specialized in the plays of G.B. Shaw and appeared in 40 films between 1930 and 1956. He was born in London and died in Brighton. Partial filmography * ''Murder ...

as Major Domo *

Stanley Holloway Stanley Augustus Holloway (1 October 1890 – 30 January 1982) was an English actor, comedian, singer and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in ''My Fa ...

as Belzanor *

Leo Genn Leopold John Genn (9 August 190526 January 1978) was an English actor and barrister. Distinguished by his relaxed charm and smooth, "black velvet" voice, he had a lengthy career in theatre, film, television, and radio; often playing aristocr ...

as Bel Affris *

Alan Wheatley Alan Wheatley (19 April 1907 – 30 August 1991) was an English actor. He was a well known stage actor in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, appeared in forty films between 1931 and 1965 and was a frequent broadcaster on radio from the 1930s to the ...

as Persian * Anthony Holles as Boatman *

Charles Victor Charles Victor (10 February 1896 – 23 December 1965) was a British actor who appeared in many film and television roles between 1931 and 1965. He was born Charles Victor Harvey. Born in Southport, Lancashire, England, Victor was a fourth ...

as 1st Porter *

Ronald Shiner Ronald Alfred Shiner (8 June 1903 – 29 June 1966) was a British stand-up comedian and comedy actor whose career encompassed film, West End theatre and music hall. Career Early life and career When he was seventeen, Shiner joined the Royal Nort ...

as 2nd Porter * John Bryning as Sentinel *

John Laurie John Paton Laurie (25 March 1897 – 23 June 1980) was a Scottish actor. In the course of his career, Laurie performed on the stage and in films as well as television. He is perhaps best remembered for his role in the sitcom ''Dad's Army'' (196 ...

as 1st Auxiliary Sentinel * Charles Rolfe as 2nd Auxiliary Sentinel *

Felix Aylmer Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE (21 February 1889 – 2 September 1979) was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television. Aylmer made appearances in films with comedians such as Will Hay and George Formby. Ear ...

as 1st Nobleman * Ivor Barnard as 2nd Nobleman *

Valentine Dyall Valentine Dyall (7 May 1908 – 24 June 1985) was an English character actor. He worked regularly as a voice actor, and was known for many years as "The Man in Black", the narrator of the BBC Radio horror series '' Appointment with Fear' ...

as 1st Guardsman * Charles Deane as 2nd Guardsman

Production

Filmed in Technicolor with lavish sets, the production was reported to be the most expensive film ever made at the time, costing £1,278,000 (or £ at value), or US$ million (or US$ at inflation-adjusted value) at contemporary exchange rates. ''Caesar and Cleopatra'' held that record until '' Duel in the Sun'' was produced in 1946. Director Gabriel Pascal ordered sand from Egypt in order to achieve the proper cinematic colour. The production ran into delays because of wartime restrictions. During the shoot,

, who was pregnant, tripped and suffered a

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical ...

. The incident triggered Leigh's

manic depression Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, leading to her emotional breakdown, and halted production for five weeks. 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 produced '' Androcles and the Lion'', another Shaw-derived film, in 1952.

Reception

Box office

According to trade papers, the film was a "notable box office attraction" at British cinemas. According to ''Kinematograph Weekly'', the top British box-office draw for 1946 was '' The Wicked Lady''. The film earned $1,363,371 in the United States, making it one of the more popular British films ever released there.Street, Sarah (2002) ''Transatlantic Crossings: British Feature Films in the USA'', Continuum, p.94 However, the film's receipts fell short of initial expectations. ''Variety'' estimated that

Rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * ...

lost $3 million (or $ at value) on the film after marketing, distribution, prints, insurance rights, and wages were taken into account.

References

Notes Bibliography * Vermilye, Jerry. (1978) ''The Great British Films'', Citadel Press, pp. 97–101.

External links

* * * * *
Review of film
at Variety * (Newsreel)

Pascal with Jean Simmons at premiere 13 December 1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caesar and Cleopatra 1945 films 1945 romantic comedy films British epic films British romantic comedy films 1940s English-language films Depictions of Julius Caesar on film Depictions of Cleopatra on film Films based on works by George Bernard Shaw British films based on plays Films set in ancient Rome Films set in Egypt United Artists films Films directed by Gabriel Pascal Films produced by Gabriel Pascal Films scored by Georges Auric 1940s British films