Carry on Cleo (1964)

Director:

Gerald Thomas

Writers:

Talbot Rothwell (original screenplay)
William Shakespeare (original idea)

Release Date:

25 October 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

She had Lotions . . . and Potions . . . and Motions!

Plot:

Two Britons are captured and enslaved by invading Romans and taken to Rome. Hengist Pod creates useless inventions...

Plot Keywords:

Cleopatra Spoof | Ancient Rome | Historical | Beautiful Woman | Sequel

Cast

Sid James	...	Mark Antony (as Sidney James)
Kenneth Williams	...	Julius Caesar
Kenneth Connor	...	Hengist Pod
Charles Hawtrey	...	Seneca
Joan Sims	...	Calpurnia
Jim Dale	...	Horsa
Amanda Barrie	...	Cleopatra
Victor Maddern	...	Sergeant-Major
Julie Stevens	...	Gloria
Sheila Hancock	...	Senna Pod
Jon Pertwee	...	Soothsayer
Francis De Wolff	...	Agrippa
Michael Ward	...	Archimedes
Brian Oulton	...	Brutus
Tom Clegg	...	Sosages
Tanya Binning	...	Virginia
David Davenport	...	Bilius
Peter Gilmore	...	Galley Master
Ian Wilson	...	Small Messenger
Brian Rawlinson	...	Hessian Driver
Gertan Klauber	...	Marcus
Warren Mitchell	...	Spencius
Michael Nightingale	...	Ancient Briton
Peter Jesson	...	Seth, Horsa's Companion
E.V.H. Emmett	...	Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gloria Best	...	Hand Maiden (uncredited)
Peggy Ann Clifford	...	Willa Claudia (uncredited)
Sally Douglas	...	Antony's Dusky Maiden (uncredited)
Joanna Ford	...	Vestal Virgin (uncredited)
Mark Hardy	...	Guard at Caesar's Palace (uncredited)
Gloria Johnson	...	Vestal Virgin (uncredited)
Judy Johnson	...	Gloria's Bridesmaid (uncredited)
Jane Lumb	...	Vestal Virgin (uncredited)
Norman Mitchell	...	Heckler (uncredited)
Christine Rodgers	...	Hand Maiden (uncredited)
Vicki Smith	...	Vestal Virgin (uncredited)
Thelma Taylor	...	Seneca's Servant (uncredited)
Virginia Tyler	...	Hand Maiden (uncredited)
Wanda Ventham	...	Pretty Bidder (uncredited)
Donna White	...	Vestal Virgin (uncredited)

Directed by
Gerald Thomas

Writing credits
Talbot Rothwell		(original screenplay)
William Shakespeare		(original idea)

Produced by
Frank Bevis	....	associate producer
Peter Rogers	....	producer

Original Music by
Eric Rogers

Cinematography by
Alan Hume		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Archie Ludski

Casting by
Weston Drury Jr.		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Bert Davey

Costume Design by
Julie Harris

Makeup Department
Ann Fordyce	....	hairdressing
Geoffrey Rodway	....	makeup artist (as Geoff Rodway)

Production Management
Donald Toms	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Peter Bolton	....	assistant director
Terry Marcel	....	third assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
William Alexander	....	chief draughtsman (uncredited)
Don Picton	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Bill Daniels	....	sound recordist
Christopher Lancaster	....	sound editor
Gordon K. McCallum	....	sound recordist
Charlie McFadden	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Otto Snel	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Stunts
Peter Diamond	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Godfrey A. Godar	....	camera operator (as Godfrey Godar)
Alec Mills	....	focus puller (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
John Hilling	....	wardrobe: men (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Rod Nelson-Keys	....	first assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Eric Rogers	....	conductor

Other crew
Olga Brook	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Peter Rogers Productions (as A Peter Rogers Production)
• Adder (uncredited)

Distributors

• Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors (1964) (UK) (theatrical) (presents) (as Anglo Amalgamated)
• Governor Films (1965) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1988) (UK) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Studio Canal (2002) (worldwide) (all media)
• Magnum Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Thorn EMI Video (1965) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Caligula: Funniest Home Videos (USA) (video title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Sweden:11 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Chobham Common, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Peter Rogers Productions

Trivia:

Peter Jesson worked 6 days.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Near the beginning, Hengist and Horsa are watching a young cave couple dragging each other around. Hengist is pouring Horsa a drink and you can see him pour, raise the jug, then Horsa takes a sip from his cup. All this time it is obvious that no liquids are in the vessels.

Quotes:

Mark Antony: Look at them. All solid bone and muscle.
Spencius: Bone and muscle I've got plenty of. It's brains what people want nowadays.
Mark Antony: They've got brains. Artisans, every one of them. Here you, what did you do in Britain?
Hengist Pod: I was a wheelmaker.
Mark Antony: See that? He makes wheels.
Hengist Pod: Square ones.
Mark Antony: Square... Never mind. Here, you. What did you do?
Horsa: I was a hunter.
Spencius: A hunter?
Mark Antony: A hunter! Now, what about that then? A hunter. What did you hunt?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Very Best of 'Have I Got News for You' (2002) (V)

One of the best of a very funny series.

What was more deserving in its day of being given a glorious sendup than the monumental production of "Cleopatra" with Liz and Dick's on- and off-set romantic interludes, so fulsomely (and scandalously - Can you believe it?!?) documented in worldwide tabloids?

20th-Century Fox rather carelessly left behind some quite elaborate sets at Pinewood Studios when production on the first attempt to film this spectacular under the direction of Rouben Mamoulian had to be shut down and then abandoned in London, when Elizabeth Taylor experienced one of her many life-threatening illnesses. (Other IMDb-ers err in stating that the abandoned sets used were those from the Joseph L. Mankiewicz version filmed at Cinecitta in Rome and on various locations in Italy, Spain and Egypt.) When M-G-M finished production of "Ben-Hur" (1959) in Italy they prudently destroyed the massive sets to prevent those cleverly thrifty Italian producers of sword-and-sandal "epics" from taking advantage of the bounty left behind.

The "Carry On" series may not have translated all that well to American shores, but I recall standing in line in Westwood, California, to see "Carry On Nurse" and enjoyed several of the later productions in this lengthy British franchise of satirical and slapstick humor. They were great fun and the new DVD collection is no doubt worth the price for aficionados of the series.