Cleopatra (1912)

Director:

Charles L. Gaskill

Writer:

Victorien Sardou (play)

Release Date:

13 November 1912 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

The fabled queen of Egypt's affair with Roman general Marc Antony is ulimately disastrous for both of them.

Plot Keywords:

Historical | Shakespeare's Antony And Cleopatra | Ancient Egypt | Battle Of Actium | Cleopatra

Cast

Helen Gardner	...	Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt (as Miss Gardner)
Pearl Sindelar	...	Iras, Attendant to the Queen (as Miss Sindelar)
Miss Fielding	...	Charmian, Attendant to the Queen
Miss Robson	...	Octavia, Wife of Antony
Helene Costello	...	Nicola, a Child (as Miss Helene)
Charles Sindelar	...	Marc Antony, a Triumvir and General (as Mr. Sindelar)
Mr. Howard	...	Pharon, a Greek Slave and Fisherman
James R. Waite	...	Venditius, a Roman Soldier (as Mr. Waite)
Mr. Osborne	...	Diomedes, a Rich Egyptian (as Mr. Osborn)
Harry Knowles	...	Kephren, Captain of the Guards to the Queen (as Harley Knowles)
Mr. Paul	...	Octavius, a Triumvir and General
Mr. Brady	...	Serapian, an Egyptian Priest
Mr. Corker	...	Ixias, Servant to Ventidius

Also Known As:

Helen Gardner in Cleopatra (copyright title)

Runtime:

88 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Helen Gardner Picture Players

Trivia:

Shakespeare's play was produced in London circa 1606-7' - Sardou's play, Cléopatre, opened in Paris on 23 October 1890.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Cleopatra: The First Woman of Power (1999) (V)

Fascinating rediscovery

I'm amazed to see a 1912 feature that's almost 90 minutes long. By contrast, "From the Manger to the Cross" is under 70 min. The tinting and restoration are good, the modern music by Chantal Kreviazuk is interesting if unnecessary (there's no reason to be turned off by it--you can always play your own music!). The film is not in "pure" tableau style but in modified tableaus. That is, there is some cross-cutting from different locations, and dialogue cards do interrupt the shots. The first scene is even somewhat distracting in its cutaways to a man who is a short distance away. During the battle of Actium, the camera suddenly goes in for a series of near close-ups of Cleopatra and Antony from the waist up, and the entire scene is told in these alternating shots with captions. (A way to avoid staging a battle.) The scene in which she barges down the Nile and seduces Antony is a typical example of "film d'art" tableau style, with only dialogue interrupting the shot occasionally. The major lengthy sequence at the end, however, begins in two locations: in Cleo's chamber on an upper floor and outside on the ground below, and Antony is raised up through the window on a rope, then for the rest of the complex scene the camera pans right and left as called for by the action. Fascinating and typically noble.