Cléopâtre une reine pour César

While the long filming of the Hollywood epic CLEOPATRA with Elizabeth TAYLOR was still underway, the film UNA REGINA PER CESARE with Pascale PETIT as the Egyptian queen was being shot at CINECITTA. The German distribution title CLEOPATRA, THE NAKED QUEEN OF THE NILE is once again incredibly stupid. Pascale PETIT is not seen naked once in the film.

The backstory is told before Cleopatra and Gaius Julius Caesar (Gordon SCOTT) meet for the first time. That is why Hollywood star Gordon SCOTT, who has moved to CINECITTA, only has a small appearance at the end. Before that, Cleopatra has to fight with her brother Ptolemy for the succession to the throne. She gets help from a bodyguard (Giorgio ARDISSON), who also becomes her lover. The Italian actor Rik BATTAGLIA also gets involved as the scheming general Lucius. A few years later, BATTAGLIA played the villain in WINNETOU III (1965) who was responsible for the death of the Apache chief Winnetou from the Karl May novels, a character so popular in German-speaking countries. Before Cleopatra finally decides on Caesar, she also tries her luck with his adversary Pompey (Akim TAMIROFF, who received an OSCAR nomination for his role in FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS). We know how that ends from history lessons.

Filming with Elizabeth TAYLOR dragged on for three years, no lie. It's no wonder that the resourceful Italians were able to quickly bring this quite acceptable production to the cinemas. However, the major Hollywood studio 20TH CENTURY FOX didn't like that at all, so they made sure that the film disappeared into obscurity for the time being.

It's a nice but regular historical flick and in Peplum style . A classy story of the power struggle and how a common soldier risks his life to serve her queen. Alexandria , 46. B.C. , there takes place a hard battle between Egyptian queen Cleopatra (Pascale Petit) and her brother Ptolemy XIII (Corrado Pani) , both of whom fight for the Egyptian throne after the death their father . Ptolemy vanquishes and Cleopatra is incarcerated . Then , Achilles (George Ardisson ) a guard officer helps her to escape . Later on , they look for Pompeius (Akim Tamiroff) . Pompeio , who was previously defeated in Farsalia battle , goes on fighting against Caesar . At the end Cleopatra meets Julius Caesar (Gordon Scott) after rolled herself up into a carpet and he becomes infatuated with her .

Intermittenly interesting extravaganza about the known queen and her adventures , while attempting to be Queen of the powerful Egypt . It's a little bit boring but the history aficionados will appeal some historical recreation and appearance of historic roles . This Sword and Sandals movie functions like a blimp-size , multi-colored sleeping tablet and really fictional story . Historical characters are utterly dwarfed by the tongue-in-cheek style and some lousy interpretations . The dialog , cinematography , and direction combine to cast a passable and attractive movie , though it is spoiled by the excessively ironic tone . Atmospheric sets , functional costumes , ordinary stars , massive scope , opulently grotesque interiors , including great spectacle of crowd scenes decently staged . Audiences are benumbed by a show of crowd scenes , many of them stock shots from other Roman films . Pascale Petit seems to be enjoying herself in the lead role in this hokey ,overdone Peplum . Pascale looks often acts like a very young sexy bomb ruler . Gordon Scott in a brief intervention is hopelessly wooden . Support cast is passable , full of Italian actors and two American ones : Akim Tamiroff , Gordon Scott , Rik Battaglia , Corrado Pani , Franco Volpi as Apollodoro , Ennio Barbo , Barbara Loy , Aurora Del Alba , ,and Giovanni Cianfriglia . The motion picture was regularly directed by Piero Pierotti, and Viktor Tourjansky .

The movie is freely based on historical events , taking real parts here and there : the actual deeds were : It deals with the epic lives of Cleopatra , Julius Caesar , and Pompeius . It's created the first triumvirate formed by Caesar , Pompeyus and Crasus . Caesar fights against Pompeyus who's vanquished in Farsalia . Julius goes to Alejandria , Tolomeo hands over the Pompeyo's head to Caesar who rules over Egypt and gives up the throne to Cleopatra . After that , the out-of-wedlock son of Cleopatra with Caesar is seen to be a threat to his future leadership . Brutus and other Roman legislators scheme the assassination of Caesar . As Julius Caesar is killed by Bruto and Casio . Later on , it happens the second triumvirate : Marc Anthony commands Egypt , Lepido rules Africa and Octavio Augustus governs over Rome and Hispania . Marc Anthony is married to Octavia , Augustus's sister . Then , Marcus Antonius is wedded to Cleopatra , but things don't turn out so well and they are defeated by Octavio Augustus in Actium .

Other films dealing with the infamous Egyptian Queen and her Roman lovers saga are the followings : Silent version ¨Cleopatra¨ 1916 with Theda Bara ; ¨Caesar and Cleopatra¨ by Gabriel Pascal with Claude Rains , Vivien Leigh and Flora Robson , ¨Cleopatra¨ 1934 by Cecil B De Mille with Claudette Colbert , Warren William and Henry Wilconson ; ¨Cleopatra¨ by Joseph L . Mankiewicz with Elizabeth Taylor , Rex Harrison , Richard Burton , Roddy MacDowall , Andrew Keir , and TV adaptation ¨Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra¨ with Richard Johnson and Janet Suzman . And TV series : ¨Cleopatra¨with Timothy Dalton , Billy Zane , and Leonor Varela .

A QUEEN FOR CAESAR is a plodding peplum adventure charting the early life and times of one Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, forever caught up in the power struggles of her bother, her courtiers, the Roman Empire, and the various soldiers and generals in her employ. What should be a lavish and spectacle-filled adventure turns out to be a low-budget effort that consists of various characters jawing in the most yawn-worthy way.

Pascale Petit makes for an attractive and distinctive-looking Cleopatra, but even Amanda Barrie did a better job in CARRY ON CLEO. The story never seems to get beyond having Cleopatra at the mercy of various guys, some of them good, some of them bad, and being imprisoned. The power struggles are dealt with in the most rote way imaginable and the presence of genre regulars like Rik Battaglia and George Ardisson does nothing to lift the spirits. Watch out for Gordon Scott who appears late in the story as a miscast Caesar.

Pascale Petit did never become a big star in her native France although the late fifties provide her with her best part in Marcel Carné ' s" Les Tricheurs".

Her Cleopatra is more comic strip stuff than historical drama (although unfairly underrated ,Mankiewicz' s magnum opus has no contenders ) ,but as pure entertainment , not to be taken seriously , it's not worse than the average sword-and -sandal flick :muscle man Gordon Scott (later a secret agent) is completely miscast ,being too young (and Cesar was bald!),but as he only appears late in the movie ,it does not matter ;It's actually George Ardisson (himself a sword and sandal habitué ,later a secret agent too) who plays Cleo's attentive escort and whose character was invented from start to finish ).

The screenplay often verges on tongue in chick ,probably the best way to deal with such a far-fetched story.

There is a great deal of palace intrigue and skullduggery going on about Cleopatra and her arch-rival brother Ptolemy. Some excitement is generated when the queen is imprisoned and a devoted lovestruck soldier (Giorgio Ardisson) risks his life to free her. After several perilous shifts in the power struggle, the film ends at that entrancing legendary moment when she is smuggled into Caesar's presence rolled in a carpet. Julius (played by a much too young Gordon Scott in a brief cameo role) is bemused.