The aging Julius Caesar finds himself intrigued by the young Egyptian queen Cleopatra.
Production
$5.2 million budget—most expensive British film until Lawrence of Arabia.
Costume
Vivien Leigh's 30+ outfit changes, including a real gold-threaded gown.
Acting
Claude Rains making Caesar's monologues feel like intimate conversation.
Director
Gabriel Pascal
Claude Rains
Julius Caesar
Vivien Leigh
Cleopatra
Stewart Granger
Apollodorus
Flora Robson
Ftatateeta
Francis L. Sullivan
Pothinus
Basil Sydney
Rufio
Cecil Parker
Britannus
Raymond Lovell
Lucius Septimus
Anthony Eustrel
Achillas
Ernest Thesiger
Theodotus
Anthony Harvey
Ptolemy
Olga Edwardes
Cleopatra's Lady Attendant
Stanley Holloway
Belzanor
Michael Rennie
1st Centurion
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
George Bernard Shaw himself approved the script and visited the set, reportedly delighted by Leigh's performance.
The film deliberately avoids the romantic tragedy of Shakespeare and DeMille, presenting Caesar as avuncular teacher rather than lover—radical for 1945.
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