Cleopatra (1912)

Director:

Charles L. Gaskill

Writer:

Victorien Sardou (play)

Release Date:

13 November 1912 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

The fabled queen of Egypt's affair with Roman general Marc Antony is ulimately disastrous for both of them.

Plot Keywords:

Slave | Queen | Marc Antony | Cleopatra | Suicide

Cast

Helen Gardner	...	Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt (as Miss Gardner)
Pearl Sindelar	...	Iras, Attendant to the Queen (as Miss Sindelar)
Miss Fielding	...	Charmian, Attendant to the Queen
Miss Robson	...	Octavia, Wife of Antony
Helene Costello	...	Nicola, a Child (as Miss Helene)
Charles Sindelar	...	Marc Antony, a Triumvir and General (as Mr. Sindelar)
Mr. Howard	...	Pharon, a Greek Slave and Fisherman
James R. Waite	...	Venditius, a Roman Soldier (as Mr. Waite)
Mr. Osborne	...	Diomedes, a Rich Egyptian (as Mr. Osborn)
Harry Knowles	...	Kephren, Captain of the Guards to the Queen (as Harley Knowles)
Mr. Paul	...	Octavius, a Triumvir and General
Mr. Brady	...	Serapian, an Egyptian Priest
Mr. Corker	...	Ixias, Servant to Ventidius

Also Known As:

Helen Gardner in Cleopatra (copyright title)

Runtime:

88 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Tappan, New York, USA

Company:

Helen Gardner Picture Players

Trivia:

Shakespeare's play was produced in London circa 1606-7' - Sardou's play, Cléopatre, opened in Paris on 23 October 1890.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Cleopatra: The First Woman of Power (1999) (V)

What WERE they thinking??

I saw the restored version of this film, which was funded by and shown on Turner Classic Television. Realizing that it was a filmed stage play done in 1912, I had no unrealistic expectations for the production values. And, as an early 20th century stage play, I thought it was quite good, But...and I still can't get over this...the soundtrack was so inappropriate that I had to watch the film with the TV muted. I have nothing against "modern" soundtracks for silent films, and in some cases, they work very well, such as Moroder's "Metropolis", but this was downright laughable in many places.