Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)

At the height of the Roman Civil War, a young Cleopatra meets a middle-aged Julius Caesar, who teaches her how to rule Egypt.

Director:

Gabriel Pascal

Writers:

George Bernard Shaw (scenario) (as Bernard Shaw), George Bernard Shaw (dialogue) (as Bernard Shaw)

Stars:

Claude Rains, Vivien Leigh, Stewart Granger

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Claude Rains	...	Caesar
Vivien Leigh	...	Cleopatra
Stewart Granger	...	Apollodorus
Flora Robson	...	Ftatateeta
Francis L. Sullivan	...	Pothinus
Basil Sydney	...	Rufio
Cecil Parker	...	Britannus
Raymond Lovell	...	Lucius Septimius
Anthony Eustrel	...	Achillas
Ernest Thesiger	...	Theodotus
Anthony Harvey	...	Ptolemy
Robert Adams	...	Nubian Slave
Olga Edwardes	...	Cleopatra's Lady Attendant
Harda Swanhilde	...	Cleopatra's Lady Attendant
Michael Rennie	...	1st. Centurion

Storyline

Cleopatra hasn't been on the throne of the pharoahs of Egypt very long when Julius Caesar pays a visit. Caesar finds the prospect of romance more tempting than he expected, since Cleopatra is a rare woman who is bright as well as beautiful. And for Cleopatra, a friendly relationship with the most powerful man in the world may pay dividends in the future.

---

Plot Keywords:

cleopatra | egypt | julius caesar | 1st century b.c. | star crossed lovers | 

---

Taglines:

Days of magnificent adventure... nights of maddest revelry... a temptation in Technicolor!

---

Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | History | Romance | War

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 September 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

César y Cleopatra

Filming Locations:

Egypt

Box Office

Budget:

£1,278,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,363,371, 31 December 1945

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gabriel Pascal Productions,Independent Producers,National Symphony Orchestra

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min 128 min (Encore-Action Library Print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Amongst Director Gabriel Pascal's extravagances, was building his own sphinx, and having it hauled out into the desert. Executive Producer J. Arthur Rank allowed it, because he hoped the picture's success would allow him to make additional historical films. However, it was a box-office failure, and caused Rank to scrub Pascal's next project, "The Snow Goose", with a loss of thirty thousand dollars.

---

Goofs

Caesar refers to his nose as "rather long" and "a Roman nose," but the idea of a "Roman nose" was not introduced until almost 150 years later, when the Emperor Hadrian erected statues of his favorite, Antinous, throughout the Empire (where many of the people had never seen a Roman), and Antinous's long nose was taken as typical of Romans (even though Antinous was a Greek).

---

Quotes

Julius Caesar: Go, Ptolemy. Always take a throne when it is offered to you.

---

Connections

Version of Producers' Showcase: Caesar and Cleopatra (1956)

User Reviews

A Spoiled Little Queen

Up to the time it was released in 1945 Caesar and Cleopatra was the most expensive British film ever made. It was as though the British cinema was trying to show America it could do a DeMille like epic as good as Cecil B. DeMille or anyone else from Hollywood. It may have been a little too overdone. Director Gabriel Pascal might have gotten a bit carried away with the spectacle and the audience might well have missed some of George Bernard Shaw's inspired dialog.

And Pascal had the advantage of the aged Mr. Shaw personally supervising the production. Of course Shaw insisted on total fidelity to his play and the ideas therein. I understand that J. Arthur Rank wanted to have a little sex and romance in there, like DeMille did do, but Shaw would have none of it.

What sets Caesar and Cleopatra apart from other Cleopatra stories that starred Theda Bara, Elizabeth Taylor, and Claudette Colbert is that Shaw portrayed her as probably what she was, a silly teenager who just happens to be Queen of Egypt. There's a little bit of Scarlett O'Hara in Vivien Leigh's performance as she moves from silly teen to a young women well schooled in statecraft by Julius Caesar.

Claude Rains plays a world weary Julius Caesar and the Shavian quips roll off his tongue with great aplomb. Like George Bernard Shaw's other masterpiece Pygmalion, Rains tutors Leigh and the results far exceed what he could have hoped for.

Production on Caesar and Cleopatra was begun while there was still a shooting war in Europe and V-2s and other such explosive devices were still raining down on the United Kingdom. A couple came real close to the studio in London this was being filmed at.

Stewart Granger got his first real notice in this film playing Apollodorus and Francis L. Sullivan plays a blustering and plotting Pothinos. If you look hard among the various slave women you will find both Jean Simmons and Kay Kendall among the extras.

You will also like both Basil Sydney as Ruffio and Cecil Parker as Britanus, two aides to Caesar who both occasionally give him a reality check.

Caesar and Cleopatra failed to recoup the cost of making it in initial release. J. Arthur Rank misjudged the British public taste post World War II. Maybe a little less expense and more attention to Shaw's words and the film might have been better.

Still it's pretty good as is.