Nefertiti, regina del Nilo (1961)

Director:

Fernando Cerchio

Writers:

John Byrne
Fernando Cerchio
(more)

Release Date:

15 January 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot Keywords:

Ancient Egypt | Beautiful Woman | Peplum

Cast

Jeanne Crain	...	Nefertiti
Vincent Price	...	Benakon
Edmund Purdom	...	Tumos, Scultore
Amedeo Nazzari	...	Amenophis IV
Liana Orfei	...	Merith
Carlo D'Angelo	...	Seper
Alberto Farnese	...	Dakim
Clelia Matania	...	Penaba
Giulio Marchetti	...	Meck
Piero Palermini	...	Nagor
Umberto Raho
Luigi Marturano
Romano Giomini
Raf Baldassarre	...	Mareb (as Raffaele Baldassarre)
Adriano Vitale
Gino Talamo

Directed by
Fernando Cerchio

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Byrne
Fernando Cerchio
Ottavio Poggi

Produced by
Ottavio Poggi	....	producer

Original Music by
Carlo Rustichelli

Cinematography by
Massimo Dallamano

Film Editing by
Renato Cinquini

Costume Design by
Giancarlo Bartolini Salimbeni		(as Giancarlo Salimbeni)

Makeup Department
Mara Rocchetti	....	hair stylist
Eligio Trani	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
John Alarimo	....	assistant director
Mauro Severino	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Mario Amari	....	sound technician
Mario Del Pozzo	....	sound technician (as Mario Del Pezzo)

Camera and Electrical Department
Carlo Fiore	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Elio Micheli	....	assistant costume designer

Other crew
Diego Alchimede	....	production assistant
Wilbert Bradley	....	choreographer
Luigi Marturano	....	fencing master
Luigi Pompei	....	footwear

Production Companies

• MAX Film

Distributors

• Colorama Features (1964) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (2004) (USA) (DVD-R)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• e-m-s the DVD-Company (2005) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:97 min | Italy:106 min | UK:85 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Norway:16

Company:

MAX Film

Goofs:

Factual errors: Amenhopis IV changed his name to Akhenaten after converting to the worship of the Aton, and his capital was Akhet-Aton, not Thebes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Stump the Stars: Ed Begley vs. Jeanne Crain" (1963)

QUEEN OF THE NILE (NEFERTITE) (Fernando Cerchio, 1961) **1/2

This one, I guess, constitutes what passes for a star-studded peplum, what with 3 Hollywood names (Jeanne Crain, Vincent Price and Edmund Purdom – though, by this point, the latter was already well into his European phase) and a local one (Amedeo Nazzari, whom I recently-viewed in L'ATLANTIDE from the same year); incidentally, I opted to start my tribute to Price's centennial with his two epic Italian efforts (the other being RAGE OF THE BUCCANEERS, also from 1961) so as to segue from April's month-long marathon of such fare.

To be honest, I was not expecting much from it, being more or less a low-brow mix of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956), in which the titular royal had also featured (as did Price himself in a smallish role!), and Purdom's own earlier vehicle THE Egyptian (1954); however, the result is not only eminently watchable but surprisingly decent (so that Price's reputation is none the worse for its being on his resume'!). Crain, of course, is the protagonist – with Price as the High Priest (and, it is later revealed, Nefertite's father!), Purdom a sculptor in love with her when she had not yet ascended the throne and even boasted a different name (later, he is forced to make a statue of the new Queen and chastises her for what he believes to be her opportunism!), while Nazzari is the heir to the realm who intends helping his pal Purdom when Price tries to keep the latter and Crain apart but then, unbeknownst of her true identity, is persuaded by the High Priest to take Nefertite for a wife!

Also involved in the proceedings are lovely Liana Orfei (who would have a similar, albeit even more central, role in RAGE OF THE BUCCANEERS itself) as Purdom's devoted assistant/lover (at one point, her sultry dancing in the desert distracts the guards at the hero's prison-tent so as to enable him to escape) and Umberto Raho (complementing Price's position in the temple as well as the film's villainous stakes). Incidentally, Nazzari's character is interestingly developed: he not only befriends a holy man and supports his reverence for one god over Egypt's several (which does not sit well with the tradition-bound Price) but he eventually goes mad and, finding himself besieged by his own soldiers (under the High Priest's command), commits suicide just instances before Purdom (sent by Crain to mobilize the loyal desert troops to their defence) arrives on the scene! In the end, the film's rich look manages to transcend budgetary limitations…even if the audio levels fluctuated intermittently throughout the copy I acquired, at one time even lapsing (very briefly) into Spanish!