''Gold for the Caesars'' ( it, Oro per i Cesari) is a 1963 ''
peplum'' film starring
Jeffrey Hunter and
Mylène Demongeot. Originally planned as an American production, the film was later became an Italian-French
international co-production
A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...
after the poor box office return of ''
King of Kings''. It was shot in Italy in 1962. The film is credited to
André De Toth
Endre Antal Miksa DeToth, better known as Andre de Toth (born Endre Antal Mihály Tóth; May 15, 1913 – October 27, 2002), was a Hungarian-American film director, born and raised in Makó, Austria-Hungary. He directed the 3D film House of Wa ...
in the United States and both De Toth and Sabatino Ciuffini in Italy.
Second unit director
Second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming stag ...
Riccardo Freda
Riccardo Freda (24 February 1909 – 20 December 1999) was an Italian film director. He worked in a variety of genres, including sword-and-sandal, horror, ''giallo'' and spy films.
Freda began directing '' I Vampiri'' in 1956. The film became ...
has claimed to have shot the entire film, while De Toth biographies make little input regarding his work on the film. Actress
Mylène Demongeot has also backed up that Freda had taken charge on the films set.
Plot
Cast
*
Jeffrey Hunter as Lacer
*
Mylène Demongeot as Penelope
*
Ron Randell Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald.
Ron or RON may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character
* Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character
*Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...
as Centurion Rufus
*
Massimo Girotti
Massimo Girotti (18 May 1918 – 5 January 2003) was an Italian film actor whose career spanned seven decades.
Born in Mogliano, in the province of Macerata, Girotti developed his athletic physique by swimming and playing polo. While studying eng ...
as Pro-consul Caius Cornelius Maximus
*
Giulio Bosetti
Giulio Bosetti (26 December 1930 – 24 December 2009) was an Italian actor and director.
Career
Giulio Bosetti appeared in film, on television and on stage over 30 times. In 1972, he narrated the television special ''La vita di Leonardo da Vi ...
as Scipio
*
Ettore Manni
Ettore Manni (6 May 1927 – 27 July 1979) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1952 and 1979.
Life and career
Born in Rome, Manni debuted as an actor in 1952, when in spite of his acting inexperience he wa ...
as Luna the Celt
*
Georges Lycan Georges may refer to:
Places
* Georges River, New South Wales, Australia
* Georges Quay (Dublin)
*Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Other uses
*Georges (name)
* ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas
* "Georges" (song), a 19 ...
as Malendi the Celt
*
Furio Meniconi
Furio Meniconi (22 February 1924 – 12 December 1981) was an Italian film and television actor.
Life and career
Meniconi was born in Rome into a family active in the cinema industry in the technical cast, or engaged in the general organizatio ...
as Dax the Gaul
Production
''Gold for the Caesars'' was an Italian-French ''
peplum'' film produced by Joseph Fryd,
Bernard Borderie Bernard Borderie (10 June 1924 in Paris – 28 May 1978 in Paris) was a French film director and screenwriter. His father, Raymond Borderie, was one of the producers of ''Les Enfants du Paradis'' (''Children of Paradise'', 1945).
Selected filmo ...
and Freda's friend
Attilio Riccio. The film was based on the
Florence A. Seward novel of the same name. The film was originally intended to be made by
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
as early as 1961, but was put off after the box-office failure of ''
King of Kings'' (1961). Fryd took over the production to make it a lower budget production in Europe. This also had the film's story drastically changed from the novel with a greater focus on the action than characterisation.
The film was shot near
Terni
Terni ( , ; lat, Interamna (Nahars)) is a city in the southern portion of the region of Umbria in central Italy. It is near the border with Lazio. The city is the capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It is ...
in 1962.
André De Toth
Endre Antal Miksa DeToth, better known as Andre de Toth (born Endre Antal Mihály Tóth; May 15, 1913 – October 27, 2002), was a Hungarian-American film director, born and raised in Makó, Austria-Hungary. He directed the 3D film House of Wa ...
is credited as the director in the American version of the film. The Italian version of the film credits
Sabatino Ciuffini as the director, while De Toth is credited as the "supervising director". This would make the film Ciuffini's only directorial role. Second unit director
Riccardo Freda
Riccardo Freda (24 February 1909 – 20 December 1999) was an Italian film director. He worked in a variety of genres, including sword-and-sandal, horror, ''giallo'' and spy films.
Freda began directing '' I Vampiri'' in 1956. The film became ...
, who is officially credited as a second unit director, stated that "I claim the whole film as mine from start to finish. The producers put De Toth aside on the second day of shooting. André De Toth did not shoot anything." In his memoirs, De Toth did not mention shooting the film nor did Anthony Slide's book ''De Toth on De Toth'', which De Toth described the film as "a vacation, taking a breather between climbing new peaks. Unfortunately, I climbed the wrong one, and when I skied down one of the Swiss Alps, I broke my neck. And that wasn't on the schedule," which only had De Toth return to directing in 1968. Lastly, the films female lead
Mylène Demongeot wrote in her own autobiography ''Tiroirs secrets'' stated that "De Toth seemed more interested in playing golf than in movies. He willingly left free ground to Riccardo Freda, who shot very spectacular scenes."
Release
''Gold for the Caesars'' was released in Italy on March 9, 1963. It was later released in the United States as ''Gold for the Caesars'' on June 1964 where it was distributed by
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
. The film was released on DVD by
Warner Archive
The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...
s on-demand series.
Reception
In a contemporary review, "Dale." of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' called the film "an acceptable piece of product that may satisfy the most undemanding filmgoers"
A review in the ''
Monthly Film Bulletin
''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with ...
'' noted the film had a "ragged" and "unconvincing" storyline concluding that "even if all its virtues are negative, the film is agreeable enough to watch and its swift development prevents it from becoming too tedious."
References
Footnotes
Sources
*
External links
*
*
*
*
{{Riccardo Freda
1963 films
1960s historical adventure films
Peplum films
French historical adventure films
Italian historical adventure films
1960s Italian-language films
English-language Italian films
English-language French films
Films directed by Andre DeToth
Films based on historical novels
Films set in the 1st century
Films set in the Roman Empire
Films about mining
Films shot in Italy
Sword and sandal films
1960s Italian films
1960s French films