Caesar and Cleopatra (film)

Caesar and Cleopatra (film)
Caesar and Cleopatra is a 1945 British Technicolor film directed by Gabriel Pascal and starring Vivien Leigh and Claude Rains. Some scenes were directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, who took no formal credit. The picture was adapted from the play Caesar and Cleopatra (1901) by George Bernard Shaw, 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 for Best Art Direction.
Plot
Aging Julius Caesar takes possession of the Egyptian capital city of Alexandria and tries to resolve a feud between the young princess Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy. Caesar develops a special relationship with Cleopatra and teaches her how to use her royal power.
Cast
Vivien Leigh as Cleopatra
Claude Rains as Caesar
Stewart Granger as Apollodorus
Flora Robson as Ftatateeta
Francis L. Sullivan as Pothinus
Basil Sydney as Rufio
Cecil Parker as Britannus
Raymond Lovell as Lucius Septimus
Anthony Eustrel as Achillas
Ernest Thesiger as Theodotus
Anthony Harvey as Ptolemy
Robert Adams as Nubian Slave
Gerald Case as a Roman Tax Officer
Olga Edwardes
Harda Swanhilde as Cleopatra's Lady Attendants
Michael Rennie as 1st Centurion
James McKechnie as 2nd Centurion
Esme Percy as Major Domo
Stanley Holloway as Belzanor
Leo Genn as Bel Affris
Alan Wheatley as Persian
Anthony Holles as Boatman
Charles Victor as 1st Porter
Ronald Shiner as 2nd Porter
John Bryning as Sentinel
John Laurie as 1st Auxiliary Sentinel
Charles Rolfe as 2nd Auxiliary Sentinel
Felix Aylmer as 1st Nobleman
Ivor Barnard as 2nd Nobleman
Valentine Dyall 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, Vivien Leigh, who was pregnant, tripped and suffered a miscarriage. The incident triggered Leigh's manic depression, 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. However, the film's receipts fell short of initial expectations. Variety estimated that Rank lost $3 million (or $ at value) on the film after marketing, distribution, prints, insurance rights, and wages were taken into account. Another account says the loss was £981,678.
See also
Cultural depictions of Julius Caesar
Cultural depictions of Cleopatra VII
References
Notes
Bibliography
Vermilye, Jerry. (1978) The Great British Films, Citadel Press, pp. 97–101.
External links
Caesar and Cleopatra at the British Film Institute
Review of film at Variety
(Newsreel)
Film Facts
Pascal with Jean Simmons at premiere 13 December 1945
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