Review of Caesar and Cleopatra

Beautiful young Egyptian queen Vivien Leigh (as Cleopatra) meets powerful old Roman emperor Claude Rains (Julius Caesar) and, as they say, the rest is history. Produced and directed by Gabriel Pascal, this adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's play loses nearly all of its verbal luster in an overblown production. It does look nice, with Technicolor photography and well-constructed sets. The epic opulence doesn't match the stagy direction and performances, however. The co-stars have little screen chemistry and Ms. Leigh flitters around the sound-stages like a scatter-brained Scarlett O'Hara played by Billie Burke. Next to Leigh and Mr. Rains, Stewart Granger looks healthy, at least. Pretty, harp-playing Jean Simmons took notice. The hours are sometimes filled with people standing around waiting for things to happen, and they do, intermittently.

**** Caesar and Cleopatra (12/11/45) Gabriel Pascal ~ Vivien Leigh, Claude Rains, Stewart Granger, Flora Robson