Vivien Leigh or Elizabeth Taylor?
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/31/04
Joined: 12/31/69
Viv was Cleopatra in 1945. Cesar and Cleopatra was an Alexander Korda production if I remember correctly.
Claude Raines was Cesar and Flora Robson was Ftatoteeta.
Cesar and Cleopatra was based on the George Bernard Shaw play. As I remember it when Vivien asked G B Shaw if he thought her a good enough actress to play Cleo, he replied that she shouldn't be silly. The role plays itself.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/31/04
I played Cleo in Shaw's play.
The role sort of DOES play itself, it was incredibly well written.
Gotta go with Liz on this one, Glebb.
Oh, I love em both. :) But I must say I enjoy the extra DVD with the Liz version. The film had way too many mishaps before shooting started and that along with Liz getting ill put her in overtime before she filmed her first scene.
Well, the film is historic for many reasons and the behind the scenes stories are priceless. Not to mention the impact it had on 20th Century Fox.
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
Claudette Colbert.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
Liz.
I saw the movie when I was about 11 - heavily into puberty. The scene where the servants bring a rolled up rug to Caesar, then unroll it and she is inside - one of the hottes things I've ever seen. Liz has never looked sexier.
That said, Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara was the most beautiful face ever on screen.
I've tried several times to post a pic of Viv as Cleo with no success, but if you Google Vivien Leigh Cleopatra you might find some gorgeous photos.
Oh, and there is a film clip of Joan Collins' screen test for Cleopatra on the 2nd disc of the two disc set.
I go with Viv on this one.
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