Determined to hold on to the throne, Cleopatra seduces the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. When Caesar is murdered, she redirects her attentions to his general, Marc Antony, who vows to take power—but Caesar’s successor has other plans.
Production
Sets so massive they built Rome twice and still went over budget.
Costume
Taylor's 65 costume changes—including that infamous gold dress.
Acting
Burton's drunken intensity meets Taylor's regal pout—chemistry or catastrophe?
Director
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Elizabeth Taylor
Cleopatra
Richard Burton
Marcus Antonius
Rex Harrison
Julius Caesar
Pamela Brown
High Priestess
George Cole
Flavius
Hume Cronyn
Sosigenes
Cesare Danova
Apollodorus
Kenneth Haigh
Brutus
Andrew Keir
Agrippa
Martin Landau
Rufio
Roddy McDowall
Octavian - Caesar Augustus
Robert Stephens
Germanicus
Francesca Annis
Eiras
Grégoire Aslan
Pothinus
Martin Benson
Ramos
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The film cost $44 million (equivalent to $400+ million today), nearly bankrupted Fox, and its original director was fired after shooting three million feet of footage—enough for two complete movies.
Taylor's $1 million salary made her the first actress to earn seven figures, and her diamonds-as-salary deal caused a Senate investigation into Hollywood accounting. The scandal coverage invented modern celebrity culture.
US
