Cleopatra (1917)

The story of Cleopatra, the fabulous queen of Egypt, and the epic romances between her and the greatest men of Rome, Julius Caesar and Antony.

Director:

J. Gordon Edwards

Writers:

Adrian Johnson, Émile Moreau (play)

Stars:

Theda Bara, Fritz Leiber, Thurston Hall

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Theda Bara	...	Cleopatra
Fritz Leiber	...	Caesar
Thurston Hall	...	Antony
Alan Roscoe	...	Pharon (as Albert Roscoe)
Herschel Mayall	...	Ventidius
Dorothy Drake	...	Charmian
Delle Duncan	...	Iras
Henri De Vries	...	Octavius Caesar
Art Acord	...	Kephren
Hector V. Sarno	...	Messenger
Genevieve Blinn	...	Octavia

Storyline

The story of Cleopatra, the fabulous queen of Egypt, and the epic romances between her and the greatest men of Rome, Julius Caesar and Antony.

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Plot Keywords:

cleopatra | female protagonist | based on multiple works | ancient egypt | 1st century b.c. | 

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Taglines:

The Vampire Supreme

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 October 1917 (USA)

Also Known As:

La Reine des Césars

Filming Locations:

William Fox Studios - 1401 N. Western Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Even though a print of the film did not exist, this was the version that 20th Century-Fox was inspired to remake in 1958, the result being Cleopatra (1963) starring Elizabeth Taylor. Producer Walter Wanger was handed a parched script of the original film and told to update it and immediately go into production.

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Connections

Remade as Cleopatra (1934)

User Reviews

Praise upon a film in memory only

Like many of Theda Bara's film, the classic "Cleopatra" does not exist in print form. We can only remember it in stills and the written word. Theda (Born Theodosia Goodman, July 29 1885) was at the very height of her fame in mid 1917, she was as a big a star as Chaplin, Pickford or Fairbanks. Fox chose this time to star her in what would become her most successful and famous film. The film was shot during the summer of 1917, and released that October. This was to be the Cleopatra to end all Cleopatra's, which meant big name casting and lavish sets and costumes. The publicity for the film began in April 1917, stating that ancient prophecies predicted Theda would play Cleopatra! The film was directed by J. Gordon Edwards, and Thurston Hall played Antony. Theda was well cast as Cleoptra, they were both about the same age when the action takes places, and Theda wore the very skimpy costumes to a "T". Fox spent $50,000 on the sets, which included hundreds of rugs, tapestries and hangings. The production employed 30,000 people with actors, extras, carpenters, costumers, and crew, as well as 2,000 horses. The film opened on October 14th 1917 in Los Angeles, and it was so successful that Theda was cheered and pelted with flowers at the end of the film. Too bad we can't see this classic movie, we can only imagine how good it was. Pity.