By Violet LeVoit
Carry on Cleo
Brief Synopsis
Two kidnapped Britons run afoul of Cleopatra.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Gerald Thomas
Director
Sidney James
Mark Antony
Kenneth Williams
Julius Caesar
Kenneth Connor
Hengist Pod
Charles Hawtrey
Seneca
Joan Sims
Calpurnia
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Release Date
Jan
1965
Premiere Information
New York opening: 22 Oct 1965
Production Company
Adder Productions;
Distribution Company
Governor Films
Country
United Kingdom
Location
England, United Kingdom
Screenplay Information
Suggested by the play Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare (London, 1606-07, published 1623) and his play Julius Caesar (London, 1599, published 1623).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 32m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Eastmancolor)
Synopsis
In ancient Britain, Mark Antony captures two men--Hengist Pod, an inventor working on a square wheel, and Horsa, a member of the Saxon underground movement--and takes them to Rome to be sold as slaves. Horsa escapes, but the weak Hengist is mistaken for a brave warrior and selected to be Caesar's bodyguard. Caesar dispatches Antony to Egypt to force Cleopatra from the throne and install Ptolemy. Antony and Cleopatra fall in love, however, and Antony disposes of Ptolemy before returning to Rome with plans to lure Caesar to Egypt and assassinate him. Hengist and Horsa clumsily contribute to the downfall of Antony's conspiracy and are rewarded with their freedom.
Director
Gerald Thomas
Director
Cast
Sidney James
Mark Antony
Kenneth Williams
Julius Caesar
Kenneth Connor
Hengist Pod
Charles Hawtrey
Seneca
Joan Sims
Calpurnia
Jim Dale
Horsa
Amanda Barrie
Cleopatra
Victor Maddern
Sergeant major
Julie Stevens
Gloria
Sheila Hancock
Senna Pod
Jon Pertwee
Soothsayer
Francis De Wolff
Agrippa
Michael Ward
Archimedes
Brian Oulton
Brutus
Warren Mitchell
Spencius
David Davenport
Bilius
Tanya Binning
Virginia
Tom Clegg
Sosages
Peter Gilmore
Galley master
Gertan Klauber
Marcus
Ian Wilson
Messenger
Brian Rawlinson
Hessian driver
E. V. H. Emmett
Narrator
Crew
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Film Details
Genre
Comedy
Release Date
Jan
1965
Premiere Information
New York opening: 22 Oct 1965
Production Company
Adder Productions;
Distribution Company
Governor Films
Country
United Kingdom
Location
England, United Kingdom
Screenplay Information
Suggested by the play Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare (London, 1606-07, published 1623) and his play Julius Caesar (London, 1599, published 1623).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 32m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Eastmancolor)
Articles
Carry on Cleo -
The salty-as-Marmite flavor of the "Carry On" film series can trace its roots back to several schools of British bawdy humor: music hall revues, saucy seaside postcards, and the satirical shows put on by the ENSA (the UK version of the USO). In this go-round, the familiar cast of regulars like Sidney James and Kenneth Williams follows up the James Bond spoof Carry On Spying (1964) with this parody of the Taylor/Burton Cleopatra (1963), complete with lines like "Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!" and Amanda Barrie tumbling out of a rolled up rug with considerably more momentum than Elizabeth Taylor did. (The production had the good fortune to use many of the sets left behind by 20th Century Fox.) A little nose-thumbing at Hollywood combined with patrician pride in the classical era colors this broad comedy punctuated with nimble wordplay - an antecedent to American genre parody farces like Airplane! (1980) and Blazing Saddles (1974).
By Violet LeVoit
By Violet LeVoit
Carry on Cleo -
The salty-as-Marmite flavor of the "Carry On" film series can trace its roots back to several schools of British bawdy humor: music hall revues, saucy seaside postcards, and the satirical shows put on by the ENSA (the UK version of the USO). In this go-round, the familiar cast of regulars like Sidney James and Kenneth Williams follows up the James Bond spoof Carry On Spying (1964) with this parody of the Taylor/Burton Cleopatra (1963), complete with lines like "Infamy! Infamy! They've all got it in for me!" and Amanda Barrie tumbling out of a rolled up rug with considerably more momentum than Elizabeth Taylor did. (The production had the good fortune to use many of the sets left behind by 20th Century Fox.) A little nose-thumbing at Hollywood combined with patrician pride in the classical era colors this broad comedy punctuated with nimble wordplay - an antecedent to American genre parody farces like Airplane! (1980) and Blazing Saddles (1974).
By Violet LeVoit
Quotes
Infamy, infamy. They've all got in for me.- Julius Caesar
Trivia
Filmed on the abandoned sets built in London for Cleopatra (1963).
Producers of this film were successfully sued by 20th Century Fox Studios after it was judged the movie poster, which parodied that of Cleopatra (1963), was so similar to be a breach of copyright.
The owners of British department store Marks and Spencer were alerted to a send-up of their store's name ("Marcus and Spencius") and associated use of the store's colours (green and gold) and called in their lawyers. Fortunately legal action was averted when it was explained no slight against the store was intended, and the owners settled for an apology and letter of explanation to be sent to a leading newspaper. Even this idea was later dropped and the incident forgotten.
The costume used by Sid James in this film is the one used by 'Richard Burton' in Cleopatra (1963).
Notes
Opened in London in December 1964.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Fall October 22, 1965
Released in United States Fall October 22, 1965
