The film starred Rhonda Fleming, Raymond Burr, William Lundigan and Michael Ansara. When Lucilius reveals his concerns to Cleopatra, she makes an unsuccessful attempt to seduce him, in order to win him to her side. Drama: Minnelli Will Guide Astaire, Fabray; Big Oriental Fete Slated Schallert, Edwin. It is extremely obvious that this composition (like many others) is a matte shot: the pyramid in the background is a superimposed painting, with the sand dune concealing the join between the live action and the matte. In November 1951 Katzman announced he would make the movie based on Cleopatra by H. Rider Haggard. Soon enough Octavius brings Roman armies to Egypt to subdue this incipient mutiny. It was part of an eight-film slate he was making at Columbia, others including Prince of Pirates with Paul Henreid, Slaves ob Babylon, Cairo to Suez, Jack McCall, Desperado, The Pathfinder, Siren of Bagdad and Flame of Calcutta. Los Angeles Times 31 May 1952: A7. In this movie it would appear that a conscience-stricken Anthony stays in Cleopatra's palace, refusing to lead an Egyptian army against his beloved Rome. Drama: Garson in 'Interrupted Melody;' Bacon-Bergman and Bjork Deals on Fire Castle says the film was sold to the public as "2 years in the making" when Kazman had in reality only been talking about making it for two years. In an early role, actress Julie Newmar (listed as Julie Newmeyer) appears as an exotic dancer clad only in gold paint (and a gold fabric bikini of early 1950s style).[1]. In 44 BC, after the assassination of the leader of Rome Julius Caesar, Egyptian Queen Cleopatra and one of the highest ranking Roman generals and Caesar's possible successor Mark Anthony begin a tragic love affair. The film opens in 44 BC, just after the assassination of Julius Caesar, and tells the story of the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra (Fleming) and her relationship with the Roman general Mark Anthony (Burr) from that time until their mutual suicide in 30 BC. Lucilius returns from this trip wounded by Cleopatra's own soldiers and even more distrustful of her, and is confined to his apartments as an honored prisoner, while Anthony continues to have his judgment clouded with constant feasting and drinking (and, although this is not mentioned, some sort of physical contact with Cleopatra's person). Drama: Dunne and MacMurray Reunion Hinted; Sam Katzman Slate Notable Elsewhere in the film, Rhonda Fleming as Cleopatra is clearly wearing a "bullet bra" of the style that was fashionable in the 1950s, and the Egyptian dancing girls are wearing bikinis of the same era. (Unlike the Elizabeth Taylor version, this Cleopatra is not madly in love with Anthony, but is merely using him as a stepping stone). As Octavius closes in, Anthony stabs himself, Lucilius breaches the palace gates in time to bring a dying Anthony to Cleopatra's chamber, and Cleopatra, in despair of the complete frustration of her ambitions, uses a snake to kill herself. This brings the movie to its end before we see Cleopatra die. The title was apparently adapted from Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, Act I, scene 5. Cleopatra persuades Anthony that all this disaffection is the work of her younger half-sister, Arsinoe, and Lucilius is sent on an expedition against her in which she is (unhistorically) killed. But Anthony dimly realizes that he has failed in his duties to Rome, most specifically in his role as a member of the ruling triumvirate, and that Cleopatra is scheming to use him to conquer Rome to make himself king and herself queen and Caesar's son the next absolute ruler of Rome, but he knows that Romans will never accept such a development; so he enables Lucilius to escape, with instructions to return to Rome and warn Octavius of what is happening in Egypt.

It was shot on the sets left over from Rita Hayworth's Salome. Fifteen days in the making. In the meantime, as Lucilius becomes aware, Cleopatra is beguiling Anthony with continuous showings of feasting and luxury while the vast population of Egypt is suffering in hunger and poverty. Schallert, Edwin. According to Castle, Katzman told the director this was Katzman's most ambitious film to date. Los Angeles Times 11 July 1952: B9. Serpent of the Nile is a 1953 Technicolor historical adventure film produced by Sam Katzman and directed by William Castle. "[4] By July Rhonda Fleming and William Lundigan were attached to star.[5]. Schallert, Edwin.

Directed by William Castle. [2], In May 1952 Kaztman said the film would start in August. The film had a very low budget. Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Serpent_of_the_Nile&oldid=948818073, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 3 April 2020, at 05:31.

Serpent of the Nile is a 1953 Technicolor historical adventure film produced by Sam Katzman and directed by William Castle. It also stars William Lundigan as Lucilius and Michael Fox as Octavius. [6] One sequence depicts a chariot racing through the sands of Egypt towards a sand dune in the distance, behind which looms a pyramid. Los Angeles Times 21 Nov 1951: A7. The film starred Rhonda Fleming, Raymond Burr, William Lundigan and Michael Ansara. Castle said the correct ad copy should have been "2 Years in The Talking. Lucilius, having previously accompanied Julius Caesar to Egypt and having been a close witness to Caesar's romance with Cleopatra, believes that Cleopatra is a woman highly skilled in besotting men to promote her own agenda, in this case to bind Mark Anthony to her desire to become queen of Rome and to make her son by Caesar the eventual ruler of the Roman Empire. With Rhonda Fleming, William Lundigan, Raymond Burr, Jean Byron. [3] It was not made until 1953, when it was William Castle's first film at Columbia after a number of years at Universal.