Caesar and Cleopatra (film)
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Caesar and Cleopatra is a 1945 British Technicolor film directed by Gabriel Pascal and starring Vivien Leigh and Claude Rains. Some scenes were directed by Brian Desmond Hurst who took no formal credit. The picture was adapted from the play Caesar and Cleopatra (1901) by George Bernard Shaw, produced by Independent Producers and Pascal Film Productions, and distributed by Eagle-Lion Distributors.
Caesar and Cleopatra failed to earn back its then colossal budget. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Art Direction for John Bryan.
Plot
In this philosophical coming-of-age film, an aging Julius Caesar takes possession of the Egyptian capital city of Alexandria, and tries to resolve a feud between young Princess Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy. During the resulting sometimes-murderous court intrigues, Caesar develops a special relationship with Cleopatra, and teaches her how to use her royal power.
Cast
- Vivien Leigh as Cleopatra
- Claude Rains as Caesar
- Stewart Granger as Apollodorus
- Flora Robson as Ftatateeta
- Francis L. Sullivan as Pothinus
- Basil Sydney as Rufio
- Cecil Parker as Britannus
- Raymond Lovell as Lucius Septimus
- Anthony Eustrel as Achillas
- Ernest Thesiger as Theodotus
- Anthony Harvey as Ptolemy
- Robert Adams as Nubian Slave
- Olga Edwardes
- Harda Swanhilde as Cleopatra's Lady Attendants
- Michael Rennie as 1st Centurion
- James McKechnie as 2nd Centurion
- Esme Percy as Major Domo
- Stanley Holloway as Belzanor
- Leo Genn as Bel Affris
- Alan Wheatley as Persian
- Anthony Holles as Boatman
- Charles Victor as 1st Porter
- Ronald Shiner as 2nd Porter
- John Bryning as Sentinel
- John Laurie as 1st Auxiliary Sentinel
- Charles Rolfe as 2nd Auxiliary Sentinel
- Felix Aylmer as 1st Nobleman
- Ivor Barnard as 2nd Nobleman
- Valentine Dyall as 1st Guardsman
- Charles Deane as 2nd Guardsman
See also
- Cultural depictions of Julius Caesar
- Cultural depictions of Cleopatra VII
- List of films based on military books (pre-1775)
