Line #3 Trivia/Cleopatra


1	* ActorSharedBackground: UsefulNotes/MarkAntony was a [[TheAlcoholic heavy drinker]]. So was Richard Burton.
2	* AllStarCast: Creator/ElizabethTaylor, Creator/RichardBurton, Creator/RexHarrison, Creator/HumeCronyn, Creator/RoddyMcDowall, Creator/MartinLandau... need more?
3	* BillingDisplacement: One that was just a clerical error. Creator/RoddyMcDowall was mistakenly listed as one of the leads, which accidentally disqualified him from getting a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
4	* CreatorBacklash:
5	** Creator/ElizabethTaylor reportedly threw up when she saw the finished product for the first time.
6	--->"[[ExecutiveMeddling They had cut out the heart, the essence, the motivations, the very core, and tacked on all those battle scenes.]] It should have been about three large people, but it lacked reality and passion. I found it vulgar."
7	** Creator/JosephLMankiewicz tried to have [[AlanSmithee his name taken off the credits]], claiming he only did the film as a favour to his friend Creator/ElizabethTaylor.
8	* CreatorKiller:
9	** ''Barely'' averted. Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox nearly went bankrupt as a result of this film's bloated production; it rebounded only because ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'' was such a phenomenal success, as well as sell its 200-acre back lot (which is now Los Angeles district Century City) to real estate developer William Zeckendorf, and managed to stay afloat for another 56 years before being acquired by Creator/{{Disney}}, losing its major studio status in the process.
10	** More importantly, it proved to be one of the final nail in the coffin of [[MediaNotes/FallOfTheStudioSystem the post-studio system era]].
11	** The film ultimately did lead to at least one victim: Walter Wanger, the once-successful Hollywood producer, never made another film again after this. Joseph L. Mankiewicz' career also went into a spiral until he directed ''Film/Sleuth1972'', a critical and commercial success. Mankiewicz retired immediately after, allowing him to rest on his laurels.
12	* DeletedScene: Originally intended by Joseph Mankewicz as a six-hour film to be DividedForPublication until ExecutiveMeddling ordered it to be released as a single four-hour film. Since the mid-1990s, Fox has been hunting down the remaining two hours to create a Director's Cut.
13	* FakeNationality: Like most Western works set in Ancient Rome and Egypt, not a single Egyptian or Italian (Roman) is cast in this film, and Elizabeth Taylor is not Greek (Cleopatra VII was actually Greek, not Egyptian, and was descended from Ptolemy I Soter, one of UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat's generals).
14	* GenreKiller: The film is one of the last of the {{Epic Movie}}s of the MediaNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood, and its box office failure along with that of ''Film/TheFallOfTheRomanEmpire'' the following year made it unsustainable for studios to pursue more costly SwordAndSandal projects. Further smaller scale attempts such as 1970's ''Film/{{Julius Caesar\|1970}}'' and 1972's ''Antony and Cleopatra'' weren't successful despite packing star power, albeit the genre would survive on television with a few examples standing out such as ''Series/IClaudius'' and ''Series/{{Masada}}''. It wouldn't be until 2000 that the genre would be truly revived on the big screen, with ''Film/{{Gladiator}}''.
15	* LifeImitatesArt: In the second part of the movie, there is hardly a scene where Mark Antony is not drinking. Richard Burton had serious problems with alcohol, including on the set. Creator/ElizabethTaylor, whose character kills herself at the end of the film, also attempted suicide during production.
16	* MoneyDearBoy: Creator/ElizabethTaylor jokingly said that she'd only do the film for $1 million. To her surprise, Fox paid it.
17	* NeverWorkWithChildrenOrAnimals: Michael Hordern describes the filming of the 9-minute sequence where Cleopatra enters Rome in his 1994 autobiography. He remembers that the doves that were supposed to fly out of the miniature pyramid when it opened had grown very drowsy in the Roman heat and remained inside, so a crew member had to hide inside to shoo them out at the right moment, not a pleasant job as the birds defecated liberally.
18	* TheOtherMarty:
19	** Originally Peter Finch was cast as Julius Caesar, Stephen Boyd as Mark Anthony and Keith Baxter as Octavian. The film's turbulent production in England, the switch in directors and move to Italy led to all three being replaced due to scheduling issues.
20	** The young actor playing Cleopatra's son had to be recast because the sequence of her arriving in Rome took so long to film - that he had grown quite a bit.
21	* PropRecycling: According to Creator/RexHarrison's autobiography, 20th Century Fox custom-made his Julius Caesar boots while Creator/RichardBurton's boots were hand-me-downs from the previous attempt at making the film. Harrison was amazed that Burton did not complain.
22	* RecycledSet: Sets that were originally built at Pinewood Studios in England, only to go unused when production moved to Italy, would later be used by the makers of the parody ''Film/CarryOnCleo''.
23	* RomanceOnTheSet: Creator/ElizabethTaylor's and Creator/RichardBurton's romance on set was one of the most famous and scandalous in movie history. Not in the least because they were both still married but not to each other.
24	* ThoseTwoActors: This was the first of six movies that Creator/RichardBurton and Creator/ElizabethTaylor made together.
25	* TroubledProduction: One of the most infamous in film history, as it took years to finish while ballooning its budget, having cast and crew changes, a location change once Creator/ElizabethTaylor got gravely ill with pneumonia in England (and in Italy things got even worse, including a shortage of building materials), the Taylor-Burton romance bringing in unwanted attention, and Fox intervening to cut short Joseph L. Mankiewicz's plans for two three-hour films, ''Caesar and Cleopatra'' and ''Antony and Cleopatra'', instead leading to a single four-hour film that upon release nearly killed the company, who had to sell parts of its studio lot to remain afloat.
26	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
27	** Planned as two three-hour epics, the first one dealing with Cleopatra and Caesar and the second with Marc Anthony. As noted above, the studio decided instead to cut it down into one film.
28	** Also noted above, a big battle sequence was planned to end the film. The film had run so over budget they couldn't afford to film it, so it had to be rewritten to take place offscreen.
29	** Creator/MarlonBrando was heavily courted for the role of Marc Anthony, having played it already in 1953's ''Film/{{Julius Caesar\|1953}}''. He was committed to ''Film/MutinyOnTheBounty1962'', so it went to Creator/StephenBoyd instead. Boyd left the role due to the extensive TroubledProduction as he was cast in ''Film/TheFallOfTheRomanEmpire'', and it eventually went to Creator/RichardBurton. Creator/PeterOToole was also seriously considered, while Creator/KirkDouglas, Creator/LaurenceHarvey and Creator/JasonRobards were also considered.
30	** Joseph L. Mankiewicz originally wanted to have either Creator/LaurenceOlivier or Creator/TrevorHoward as Julius Caesar. Olivier was running the National Theatre of Great Britain, and Howard was caught up in the protracted filming of ''Film/MutinyOnTheBounty1962''.
31	** When it seemed like Creator/ElizabethTaylor wouldn't recover from her illness, Creator/AudreyHepburn was considered to replace her. Also considered were Creator/BrigitteBardot, Creator/SusanHayward, Creator/JenniferJones, Creator/GinaLollobrigida, Creator/SophiaLoren, Creator/ShirleyMacLaine, Creator/MarilynMonroe and Creator/KimNovak.
32	** Creator/YulBrynner, Creator/NoelCoward, Creator/JohnGielgud, Creator/CaryGrant, Creator/CurdJurgens, Creator/FredricMarch and Creator/PeterSellers were considered for Julius Caesar. John Gielgud went on to play Julius Caesar in a screen adaptation of the Shakespeare play in 1970.
33	** A then-unknown Creator/OliverReed's agent tried to get him a part in the film.
34	** After firing Rouben Mamoulian as director, Walter Wanger and Darryl F. Zanuck approached Creator/AlfredHitchcock to take over the project. Hitchcock refused and chose to make ''Film/TheBirds'' instead. Taylor, whose contract gave her director approval, would only approve two possible replacements: Creator/GeorgeStevens and Creator/JosephLMankiewicz. Stevens was already at work on ''Film/TheGreatestStoryEverTold''.
35	* WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: In keeping with the chaotic production, there was no shooting script. Creator/JosephLMankiewicz wrote as he was shooting. At one point, he was fired and then rehired because he was the only one who could put the film together.

Context Trivia / Cleopatra