Cleopatra | |
---|---|
Directed by | Charles L. Gaskill |
Screenplay by | Charles L. Gaskill (uncredited) |
Based on | Cléopâtre 1890 play by Victorien Sardou |
Produced by | Helen Gardner |
Starring | Helen Gardner |
Cinematography | Lucien Tainguy |
Edited by | Helen Gardner (uncredited) |
Production company | The Helen Gardner Picture Players |
Distributed by | United States Film Co. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 87 minutes |
Country | United States |
Budget | $45,000 ($1,411,636 today) |
Cleopatra is a 1912 American silent historical drama film starring Helen Gardner in the title role and directed by Charles L. Gaskill, based on the 1890 play written by Victorien Sardou. [1] It ws the first film to be produced by The Helen Gardner Picture Players.
Cleopatra is one of the early six-reel feature films produced in the United States. [2] Promoted as "The most beautiful motion picture ever made", it was the first to offer a feature-length depiction of Cleopatra, [3] although there had been a short film about Antony and Cleopatra two years earlier. [4]
This section needs expansionwith: This synopsis is nearly empty and is an inconclusively-lengthed account of the plot of this theatrical film.. You can help by adding to it. (March 2024) |
In a series of elaborately staged tableaux, it depicts Cleopatra and her love affairs, first with handsome fisherman-slave Pharon, then with Mark Antony.
Cleopatra was the first film produced by The Helen Gardner Picture Players, Helen Gardner's production company, located in Tappan, New York. [5] Gardner created the company in 1910 after finding success in a series of early 1900s Vitagraph shorts. [2]
The film's budget was $45,000 (approximately $1,472,000 today) and featured lavish sets and costumes (Gardner also served as the film's costume designer and editor). Gardner used the natural Tappan scenery for outdoor shots in addition to sets. [2] [3]
Upon its release, Cleopatra played in opera houses and theatres. The film was also featured in a theatrical roadshow accompanied by a publicist, manager and a lecturer/projectionist. [6]
In 1918, Gardner filmed additional scenes and re-issued the film to compete with the 1917 adaptation released by Fox starring Theda Bara. [6]
Film critic Dennis Schwartz described it as "energetic", giving it a B− rating. [7]
Like many American films of the time, Cleopatra was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For the 1918 release, the Chicago Board of Censors required a cut of the two intertitles "If I let you live and love me ten days, will you then destroy yourself?" and "Suppose Anthony were told that she [Cleopatra] had just left the embraces of the slave Pharon". [8]
Literary and film critic Edward Wagenknecht reports that he had “much desired” to see Gardner’s 1912 six-reel production of Sardou’s Cleopatra when he was a 12-year-old boy. [9] Not until 1961 did Wagenknecht have an opportunity to view the feature:
I am sorry that it did not turn out to be worth waiting forty-nine years for, since Miss Gardner was as inexplicably bad in Cleopatra, in which she did an unsuccessful imitation of Sarah Bernhardt, as she was good in Vanity Fair (1911). [10]
The 1912 version of Cleopatra still exists in its entirety. In 2000, Turner Classic Movies had the print restored, using an earlier 1960s restoration, and commissioned a new musical score from the husband and wife team of Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida. [11] The restored version, complete with color tinting, first aired on TCM in August 2000. [2]
Marcus Antonius, commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autocratic Roman Empire.
The Second Triumvirate was an extraordinary commission and magistracy created for Mark Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian to give them practically absolute power. It was formally constituted by law on 27 November 43 BC with a term of five years; it was renewed in 37 BC for another five years before expiring in 32 BC. Constituted by the lex Titia, the triumvirs were given broad powers to make or repeal legislation, issue judicial punishments without due process or right of appeal, and appoint all other magistrates. The triumvirs also split the Roman world into three sets of provinces.
The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Liberators' civil war between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian and the leaders of Julius Caesar's assassination, Brutus and Cassius, in 42 BC, at Philippi in Macedonia. The Second Triumvirate declared the civil war ostensibly to avenge Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, but the underlying cause was a long-brewing conflict between the so-called Optimates and the so-called Populares.
Carry On Cleo is a 1964 British historical comedy film, the tenth in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). Regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor, Charles Hawtrey, and Jim Dale are present and Connor made his last appearance until his return in Carry On Up the Jungle six years later. Joan Sims returned to the series for the first time since Carry On Regardless three years earlier. Sims would now appear in every Carry On up to Carry On Emmannuelle in 1978, making her the most prolific actress in the series. Jon Pertwee makes the first of his four appearances in the series. The title role is played by Amanda Barrie in her second and last Carry On. Along with Carry On Sergeant and Carry On Screaming!, its original posters were reproduced by the Royal Mail on stamps to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Carry On series in June 2008. The film was followed by Carry On Cowboy 1965.
Cleopatra is a 1917 American silent historical drama film based on H. Rider Haggard's 1889 novel Cleopatra, the 1890 play Cleopatre by Émile Moreau and Victorien Sardou, and the play Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare. The film starred Theda Bara in the title role, Fritz Leiber Sr. as Julius Caesar, and Thurston Hall as Mark Antony.
A Slave of Fashion is a 1925 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Hobart Henley. The film stars Norma Shearer and Lew Cody, with William Haines. A young Joan Crawford had an early uncredited role as a mannequin.
The Merry Widow is a 1925 American silent romantic drama/black comedy film directed and written by Erich von Stroheim. Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film stars Mae Murray, John Gilbert, Roy D'Arcy, and Tully Marshall, with pre-fame uncredited appearances by Joan Crawford and Clark Gable.
Carmen is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film is based on the novella Carmen by Prosper Mérimée. The existing versions of this film appear to be from the re-edited 1918 re-release.
Joan the Woman is a 1916 American epic silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Geraldine Farrar as Joan of Arc. The film premiered on Christmas Day in 1916. This was DeMille's first historical drama. The screenplay is based on Friedrich Schiller's 1801 play Die Jungfrau von Orleans. This film was considered to be the "first cinematic spectacle about Joan of Arc."
The Great Love is a 1918 American silent war drama film directed and written by D. W. Griffith who, along with scenario writer Stanner E.V. Taylor, is credited as "Captain Victor Marier". The film stars George Fawcett and Lillian Gish. Set during World War I, exterior scenes were shot on location in England. The Great Love is now considered to be a lost film.
Antonia was a Roman noblewoman who married the Greek nobleman Pythodoros of Tralles. She has been identified as the daughter of the general Mark Antony, presumably by his second wife Antonia Hybrida Minor. Theodor Mommsen was the first historian to identify Pythodoros' wife as the same woman as the daughter of Antony who was engaged to a son of the triumvir Lepidus. Mommsen's view has found wide acceptance but is not without its detractors.
Helen Louise Gardner was an American stage and film actress, screenwriter, film producer and costume designer. She was the first film actor to form her own production company. Her productions were primarily feature-length films, making her one of the earliest adopters of the feature film. Gardner's work was distinct for frequently centering female characters. Gardner is also considered one of the screen's first vamps.
Cleopatra VII, the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt, died on either 10 or 12 August, 30 BC, in Alexandria, when she was 39 years old. According to popular belief, Cleopatra killed herself by allowing an asp to bite her, but according to the Roman-era writers Strabo, Plutarch, and Cassius Dio, Cleopatra poisoned herself using either a toxic ointment or by introducing the poison with a sharp implement such as a hairpin. Modern scholars debate the validity of ancient reports involving snakebites as the cause of death and whether she was murdered. Some academics hypothesize that her Roman political rival Octavian forced her to kill herself in a manner of her choosing. The location of Cleopatra's tomb is unknown. It was recorded that Octavian allowed for her and her husband, the Roman politician and general Mark Antony, who stabbed himself with a sword, to be buried together properly.
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a 1918 American silent drama film directed by J. Searle Dawley, produced by Famous Players–Lasky Corporation and distributed by Paramount Pictures under the Famous Players–Lasky name. The film is based on Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel Uncle Tom's Cabin and George Aiken's eponymous play.
Let's Get a Divorce is a 1918 American silent comedy film starring Billie Burke and written for the screen by husband and wife team John Emerson and Anita Loos. The film was produced by the Famous Players–Lasky company and distributed through Paramount Pictures. The film is based on the popular stage play Divorçons by Victorien Sardou and Émile de Najac.
Pied Piper Malone is a 1924 American silent comedy drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Thomas Meighan. The Famous Players–Lasky produced the film and Paramount Pictures distributed.
Lost in Transit is a lost 1917 American silent drama film directed by Donald Crisp and written by Gardner Hunting and Kathlyn Williams. The film stars George Beban, Helen Jerome Eddy, Pietro Sosso, Vera Lewis, Henry A. Barrows, and Frank Bennett. The film was released on September 3, 1917, by Paramount Pictures.
Between Friends is a 1924 American silent melodrama film based on the eponymous 1914 novel by Robert W. Chambers. The film was directed by J. Stuart Blackton and produced by Albert E. Smith. It stars Lou Tellegen, Anna Q. Nilsson, and Norman Kerry. The feature was distributed by Vitagraph Studios, which was founded by Blackton and Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York. The film is lost.
The Man Life Passed By is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Victor Schertzinger and starring Percy Marmont, Jane Novak, and Eva Novak. The Novak sisters portray two sisters in the film.
Pearl Sindelar was an American silent film actress.