IMDb RATING
6.2/10
3.2K
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At the height of the Roman Civil War, a young Cleopatra (Vivien Leigh) meets a middle-aged Julius Caesar (Claude Rains), who teaches her how to rule Egypt.At the height of the Roman Civil War, a young Cleopatra (Vivien Leigh) meets a middle-aged Julius Caesar (Claude Rains), who teaches her how to rule Egypt.At the height of the Roman Civil War, a young Cleopatra (Vivien Leigh) meets a middle-aged Julius Caesar (Claude Rains), who teaches her how to rule Egypt.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 nominations total
Anthony Eustrel
- Achillas
- (as Antony Eustrel)
James McKechnie
- 2nd. Centurion
- (as James Mc Kechnie)
- Director
- Writer
- George Bernard Shaw(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe role of Caesar was originally offered to Sir John Gielgud, who turned it down, because he detested Director Gabriel Pascal.
- GoofsCaesar 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: And so to the end of history, murder shall breed murder, always in the name of right, and justice, and peace, until the gods create a race of men that can understand.
- Crazy creditsClosing credits cast list finishes with And The Crowd.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Great Performances: Laurence Olivier: A Life (1983)
Featured review
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.
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.
helpful•523
- bkoganbing
- Oct 18, 2006
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £1,278,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 3 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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