Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)

Director:

Gabriel Pascal

Writers:

George Bernard Shaw (play)
George Bernard Shaw (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 September 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | History | War

Tagline:

The most lavish picture ever on the screen!

Plot:

Cleopatra hasn't been on the throne of the pharoahs of Egypt very long when Julius Caesar pays a visit...

Plot Keywords:

Cleopatra | Julius Caesar | Egypt | Roman Empire | Royalty

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Claude Rains	...	Julius Caesar
Vivien Leigh	...	Cleopatra
Stewart Granger	...	Apollodorus
Flora Robson	...	Ftatateeta
Francis L. Sullivan	...	Pothinus
Basil Sydney	...	Rufio
Cecil Parker	...	Britannus
Raymond Lovell	...	Lucius Septimus
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	...	Quayside Centurion

Runtime:

138 min | USA:123 min | USA:128 min (Encore-Action Library Print) | Argentina:129 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Germany:16 (nf) | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Gabriel Pascal Productions

Trivia:

During filming, Vivien Leigh had a miscarriage which delayed production for 5 weeks.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: 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 Hardian 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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Vivien Leigh: Scarlett & Beyond (1990) (TV)

The best filmed Shaw?

Bernard Shaw does not perhaps adapt too well to the screen, but, in my opinion, this adaptation is particularly successful and probably the best of them all, although one video edition in the UK didn't even risk mentioning Shaw's name anywhere on the box, prefering to market it as mere exotic spectacle. It is of course all that, but as with everything Shaw wrote, much, much more, and is essentially about IDEAS, (not necessarily, as has often been contended, always Shaw's own personal convictions). Vivien Leigh as Cleopatra gives yet another sublime and first-rate performance as she progresses from frightened teenager to an imperious Queen with a real understanding of power. (The scene in which she whips a hapless slave in order to experience the "thrill" of total power, strangely pre-echoes the psychology of the much misunderstood SALO). Mention too must also be made of the superb musical score by Georges Auric, and admiration expressed for the sheer audacity of producer Pascal for making such a lavish and expensive production in poverty-stricken post-war Britain. Well worth watching.