Elizabeth Taylor in "Cleopatra" (1963)

Elizabeth Taylor in "Cleopatra" (image from JSR Pages)

REVIEW:
How could the highest grossing film of 1963 - 1964 be also considered the biggest financial disaster? Perhaps if we analyze the film's budget, which had initially been only $2 million and eventually came up with over $45 million (more than $320 million in adjusted value inflation) and if we learn that the shooting lasted for years...then we understand this paradox. And if we remember about the almost lethal disease of Elizabeth Taylor, about the changes of the directors and cast, about the fact that the shooting moved from London to Rome, plus countless rewrites of the script...perhaps we'll get a better look at this epic production. And above all this we have to add the scandal of the century, the story of the universaly publicized adulterous love affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and then and only then we'll have the perfect recipe for both success and disaster. Despite the numerous Oscars and its big box office success, the film was so expensive that it could not possibly recover its costs immediately! This paradox was precisely what happened when 20th Century Fox released "Cleopatra" in 1963.

Initially, Fox wanted to release "Cleopatra" in March 1960. Buddy Adler and Spyros Skouras (the studio bosses) wanted an "economy" movie with a $2 million budget and with one of their contract actresses: Joan Collins, Suzy Parker or Joanne Woodward. However, the film producer, Walter Wanger, wanted a big budget super production. He aimed to convince Skouras and Adler of his vision, showing them the film sketches (for this Wanger had hired John DeCuir). One afternoon in February of 1959, Wanger showed the studio bosses his ideas about "Cleopatra". Wanger would later explain: "They agreed immediately, because it was the most beautiful project they had ever seen". Wanger continued his campaign for a colossal movie, by choosing Elizabeth Taylor to do "Cleopatra". Initially, Fox was not happy with this decision, but Skouras acknowledged that Taylor could increase the box-office success.

Taylor was filming "Suddenly, Last Summer" in London, when Wanger phoned her in September 1959. She said she would play "Cleopatra", but only if they made some changes to the script, if the movie was shot in England, if the studio used the Todd AO system - invented by Mike Todd - and if the studio guaranteed her a salary of...1 million dollars! Wanger nearly suffocated, and the studio bosses were horrified, but finally agreed. They sent telegrams worldwide, asking distributors if Taylor was worth 1 million dollars. The answer was: YES! While filming "BUtterfield 8", Taylor signed one of the most fabulous contracts of all times: $125,000 per week for the first 16 weeks, $50,000 per week after 16 weeks, 10% of the gross, $3,000 per week for personal expenses, accommodation and meals for her and her family, and business class flights for her, three other adults and her three children, at any time during filming. Taylor's total earnings for this movie was finally more than 7 million dollars (about $50 million in adjusted value inflation).

After Taylor signed, Skouras and Adler asked Rouben Mamoulian for directing the film. The cast was also finalized: Peter Finch (Caesar) and Stephen Boyd (Anthony). However, "Cleopatra" still didn't have a finished script. So, when filming began in the autumn of 1960, there was no structured plan for production. The filming in England proved to be disastrous. The Pinewood Studios did not have the technical capability for such a great production! The ceilings were too small for the interior filming and the sets were not large enough, the restrictions inforced by the unions were too high and the budget had already reached $6,000,000.

The filming was rescheduled for September 1960 and Fox hoped to finish the project until February 1961. However, the low temperatures and high humidity in England made ​​Taylor seriously ill. Mamoulian tried to shoot some scenes without her, but as the script was not finished, there were not much to shoot ... The weather in England was frustratingly unstable and all these complications forced Fox to raise the budget to $7,000,000.

Meanwhile, American doctors were brought in to see Taylor. As her terrible headache and fever persisted, the press began to report on hourly basis about the state of the actress. Allegations ranged from the fact that she had suffered from a nervous breakdown or had a miscarriage. Queen Elizabeth's personal physician put the diagnosis: dental abscess. Taylor's illness alone had cost Fox $2 million, by blocking production. The company's bosses ordered the replacement of Taylor with another actress. Wanger opposed.

After two years of pre-production and just a few weeks' filming, Fox had already spent more than $7 million and "Cleopatra" had only ten minutes of footage! Mamoulian resigned and at Taylor's suggestion the studios hired director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who had worked with Taylor at "Suddenly, Last Summer" and had also directed "Julius Caesar" in 1953. Thus, Mankiewicz seemed the perfect choice. Fox hired him for $3 million, an unheard salary for a director!

When Mankiewicz saw the script he was terrified. He discovered that the script was "shockingly stupid, a soap opera with a hysterical vamp". Mankiewicz saw Cleopatra as an inteligent femme fatale who had fought with the greatest men of the ancient world. Thus, Mankiewicz ordered a complete rewriting of the script and Ranald MacDougall was hired for this operation. Fox had to throw away the 10 minutes of footage from London along with the 7 million dollars, spent until then!

When it seemed that the film can be resumed, Taylor fell ill again in the spring of 1961. This time, she had pneumonia and suffered an emergency tracheotomy. Her condition was critical and the global media had flocked outside the hospital. The media had alerted the world that Elizabeth Taylor could die at any moment. Obviously, Taylor survived and flew back home in California, just in time to receive the Oscar for the best actress! She was ordered six months of total rest.

When shooting resumed in the fall of 1961, the production was moved to Italy in Rome, where Fox hoped to reduce the production costs as a result of the fact that the work lasted six days per week and that in Italy the weather was hot. Mankiewicz still waited for completion of the script and began to write it himself. The props and costumes were not finished, but Fox remained rigid on the filming start date: September 1961. The production department had to prepare and plan a budget for the film production with only a sketch of the script. Even if Mankiewicz had 132 pages of the script (about 100 minutes of film), it still remained to be written 195 pages, during filming! Mankiewicz worked himself up to exhaustion in the months of the production. He used to shoot all day and at night to write, with few hours for rest and sleep. The sets were built at high cost and stood unused for months because of the lack of production planning. A real shortage of building materials started in Italy, because of the needs of "Cleopatra". The thousands of extras expected for hours, doing nothing for weeks. An army of actors waited for the script and the production schedule. All this wasted time meant money! Fox was appalled by the exorbitant costs. And yet, if all this were not enough, another complication was about to emerge at the horizon - one that created a bigger scandal than anyone could have ever imagined. The Pope in Rome, the U.S. Congress and the world media, everyone felt obliged to intervene!

During the extended pause in the summer of 1961, Caesar's role was attributed to Rex Harrison and that of Anthony to Richard Burton. Burton had just won the Tony Award for his role as King Arthur in "Camelot". The Fox Studios had "bought" him for $250,000. "Cleopatra" meant for him the first successful film in his career and he was more than happy to go to Rome. In spite of being married for 12 years and having two daughters, Burton had a bad reputation when it came to women. Taylor was married to Eddie Fisher at the time - a highly publicized relationship, begun while Fisher was still married to Debbie Reynolds.

At first, Burton didn't like Taylor, referring to her as "Miss Tits". Even if he had never seen any of her films, he thought she was just a Hollywood star as so many others, without talent, and wrongly paid with millions of dollars (Taylor had already received $2 million until September 1961). Taylor knew his reputation as a highly regarded actor, but she also had a bad impression about him. All that was about to change soon. Fox described their first two days of filming together as an "electrifying meeting". Everyone on the set realized that Taylor and Burton actually lived their roles. "There comes a time during a movie when the actors become the characters they play", said Wanger. It was just a matter of weeks until the tabloid media buzz reached the whole world. Paparazzi were chasing them everywhere and their story dominated the headlines around the world. "Le Scandale" led the Vatican to intervene and publicly denounce the adultery. The Taylor - Burton affair became the most discussed topic in all the pubs and clubs in the world, in television shows, in the U.S. Congress and on the halls of the White House etc.

When the filming ended, Fox noted that they had spent 45 million dollars for production and advertising. Mankiewicz delivered more than eight hours of footage to the studio. Fox "flirted" with the idea of distributing the film in two parts, to try to recover as much money as possible, but they feared that by the time they launched the second part, Taylor and Burton would no longer be together! The film premiered in New York on June 11th, 1963, with a duration of 243 minutes. A week later, it was reduced to 222 minutes. The comments were daunting, but the film advertising attracted audiences and the box-office success all over the world. From Japan to Australia, from Italy to the U.S.S.R., "Cleopatra" was the most watched film, becoming the highest grossing film of 1963. In America the film grossed over 48 million dollars, of which only 26 million dollars returned to Fox, insufficient to recover the costs! In 1966, three years after its release, ABC Television paid $5 million for two presentations of the film, and thus "Cleopatra" recovered all its costs! By 1969 it reached 62 million dollars outside America!

Leaving aside the huge costs of "Cleopatra" and the chaos it was produced in, some film critics have been more than enthusiastic. Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" wrote: "Unless you're one of those skeptics who are predisposed to not like anything, you can not appreciate this brilliant and spectacular film". The American Film Academy was also generous. The film won 4 Oscars, for: Best Picture, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects. Also, the film was nominated for 5 other Academy Awards, for: Best Picture, Best Actor (Rex Harrison), Best Editing, Best Music and Best Film Soundtrack.

The black clouds that floated over "Cleopatra" from the beginning of its production until its release, the disastrous critics and the Taylor - Burton love affair have overshadowed the film's artistic qualities. For the viewers, the Cleopatra's story in the film was of no importance...The audience was more interested in the love between Taylor and Burton, than the love between Cleopatra and Marc Anthony. The dialogues in the film were brilliant and intelligent, the show on screen was great, but what mattered was the surreal beauty of Elizabeth Taylor and her love for Richard Burton. Finally, Fox has recovered its money and profited. After 1969 Fox no longer released public statements about the ever growing profits of "Cleopatra".

FILM TITLE
"CLEOPATRA" (U.S.A./20th Century Fox/1963)

PROMO
"The most awaited film, the most talked about film ever made" (Fox).
The most expensive film ever produced in Hollywood: $45 million (more than $320 million in adjusted value inflation), until "Avatar" by James Cameron. Some say it still is the most expensive.

OVERVIEW
In 48 B.C., Caesar pursues Pompey from Pharsalos to Egypt. Ptolemey, now Egypt's sovereign after having chased away Cleopatra, his older sister, tries to please Caesar by giving Pompey's cut off head as a gift. To win the support of Caesar, Cleopatra, hiden in a carpet, is brought by Apollodorus in front of Caesar. Caesar falls madly in love with Cleopatra, and after banishing Ptolemey, he declares Cleopatra as Egypt's sole sovereign and has a son with her​​, Caesarion. But Caesar should return to Italy. Caesar and Cleopatra will reunite on the occasion of the spectacular Egyptian Queen's entrance in Rome, but Caesar is assassinated shortly thereafter, on the Ides of March, and Cleopatra goes back to Egypt. When later Marc Anthony meets Cleopatra at Tarsus on the board of her ship, he also falls in love with Cleopatra and became its military ally. To strengthen his position in Rome, Anthony marries Octavia, the sister of Octavian, the future emperor Caesar Augustus. This marriage does not satisfy anyone: Cleopatra is angry, and Anthony, tired of his wife, returnes to Egypt. There, he marries Cleopatra in a public ceremony. Later, Octavian defeats Mark Anthony at the Battle of Actium. Alarmed, Cleopatra withdraws her fleet and takes refuge in her tomb. Falsely informed that Queen Cleopatra is dead, Anthony stabs himself. Carried to her grave, he is living his last moments in the arms of the Queen. In desperation, Cleopatra kills herself, bitten by a venomous snake.

CAST
Elizabeth Taylor (Cleopatra), Richard Burton (Mark Anthony), Rex Harisson (Caesar), Pamela Brown (Priestess), Hume Cronyn (Sosigenes), Cesare Danova (Apollodorus), Andrew Keir (Agrippa), Martin Landau (Rufio), Roddy McDowall (Octavian), Michael Hordern (Cicero).
DIRECTED BY
Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
Rouben Mamoulian was the first director of the London production. Darryl F. Zanuck was in charge of post production and fired J.L. Mankiewicz; Mankieiwicz was subsequently rehired, because Zanuck was unable to edit "Cleopatra".
SCREENPLAY
Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Ranald MacDougall, Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, after historians Plutarch and Suetoniu and after the book "The life and times of Queen Cleopatra" by Carlo Mario Franzero.
PRODUCED BY
Walter Wanger, Peter Levathes.
Darryl F. Zanuck took over 'Cleopatra' after he fired Walter Wanger and Peter Levathes.
In association with 20th Century Fox: MCL Films and Walwa Films.
MUSIC
Alex North.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Leon Shamroy.
PRODUCTION DATES
between September 1960 - March 1963.
RELEASED
June 1963.
COLOR
DeLuxe.
DURATION
243 minutes.
GENRE
historical drama.

NOMINATED at
- Oscar for Best Picture, Oscar for Best Actor (Rex Harrison), Oscar for Best Editing, Oscar for Best Score, Oscar Best Soundtrack;
- Golden Globe for Best Film, Golden Globe for Best Actor (Rex Harrison), Golden Globe for Best Actor (Roddy McDowall).
AWARDS
- Oscar for Best Picture, Oscar for Best Art Direction, Oscar for Best Costume Design, Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

TRIVIA
- Some employees at Cinecitta studios in Rome stoled props and equipment worth several million dollars;
- The female extras went on strike to demand protection against the Italian men that made "advances". The studio eventually hired a special guard to protect them;
- Rex Harrison had a clause in the contract stipulating that whenever a picture of Richard Burton appears on a poster, his was to appear, too. A giant poster was on Broadway that featured only Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. After Harrison's lawyers complained, the studio put the image of Harrison in a corner of the panel;
- The film was mistakenly considered one of the biggest financial flops of all time; the reality is quite different: the movie recovered its money, and pulled out a considerable profit, despite the unimaginable costs. "Cleopatra" was one of the highest grossing films of the 1960s;
- Joseph L. Mankiewicz said that the best scenes were cut and there are over 120 minutes of film missing;
- Elizabeth Taylor costumes' allocated amount was worth $194,800, the highest ever assigned for an actress in a single film. Among them there was one dress made of 24 carat gold;
- Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz was fired during the editing and post production, but Twentieth Century Fox soon realized that only he knew how to edit the film, so he was brought back to complete the project.
- Martin Landau learned Italian during filming;
- The scar from Elizabeth Taylor's tracheotomy surgery is visible in several scenes in the film;
- To finance "Cleopatra", 20th Century Fox sold several studio lots back in Los Angeles;
- The super production used 79 sets and 26,000 costumes;
- Joseph L. Mankiewicz told Martin Landau as he had so much footage, that he could make a separate film, called "Other adventures of Octavian and Rufio"
- Cleopatra's ship had cost $2 million (in adjusted value inflation);
- When the film was cut from 6 to 4 hours, there were still 49 pages of script to be shot, to make sense of the film!;
- To film the naval battle of Actium, 20th Century Fox had to rent and build so many boats, that it was said at the time that 20th Century Fox had the world's third largest naval fleet!;
- The Roman Forum built at Cinecitta was three times larger than its actual size;
- Initially, Egypt refused Elizabeth Taylor's entry into the country because she had converted to Judaism. The authorities revised their view, realizing that a rain of dollars would fall over Egypt and on the banks of the Nile along with cast and crew; yet, Taylor visited Egypt a decade later.
- Hume Cronyn was employed for 10 weeks and eventually spent 10 months filming "Cleopatra";
- At one time, the film production "swallowed" $70,000 per day;
- When shooting the famous scene of Cleopatra's entrance into Rome, thousands of enthusiastic extras began to shout "Liz! Liz!", instead of "Cleopatra! Cleopatra!"
- When Marilyn Monroe's film "Something's Got To Give" was canceled and 20th Century Fox fired her, "Cleopatra" remained the only film in production at 20th Century Fox. Obviously, a lot of other bills were paid on behalf of the film;
- One of the biggest allies of Joseph L. Mankiewicz was Rex Harrison, who at one time, offered his own salary to help finish the film on their own. Mankiewicz refused;
- They say that when the studio executives have suggested that Joan Collins, Susan Hayward and Dana Wynter would be very good to replace the capricious Elizabeth Taylor, Spyrous Skouras (the studio boss) shouted: "Cleopatra must have tits, Taylor's tits mean at least $2,000,000 more for us!";
- Fox's marketing campaign proved good: before the premiere, the movie was already sold for 4 months ahead.

Watch TRAILER here.