''Cleopatra's Daughter'' ( it, Il sepolcro dei re) is a 1960

historical drama film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swa ...

set in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

during the reign of the

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...

Khufu Khufu or Cheops was an ancient Egyptian monarch who was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty, in the first half of the Old Kingdom period ( 26th century BC). Khufu succeeded his father Sneferu as king. He is generally accepted as having c ...

(r. 2589-2566 BC). The film stars Debra Paget and was directed by

Fernando Cerchio Fernando Cerchio (7 August 1914 – 19 August 1974) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed more than 30 films between 1940 and 1972. Selected filmography * '' Men of the Mountain'' (1943) * ''Mistress of the Mountains'' ...

. For some reason, the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

version was translated very differently from the original

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

script, setting the film in the 1st century BC, rather than the early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

Plot

After the death of Antony and Cleopatra, Egypt is ruled by the young tyrant Pharaoh Nemorat and his mother Tegi. Cleopatra has left a surviving daughter, Shila, raised by the king and queen of Assyria. When Nemorat conquers Assyria, Shila is brought to the Egyptian court and, at the instigation of Nemorat's mother, marries him. The pharaoh, who is a mentally disturbed hypochondriac, has a good and wise physician, Resi, who falls in love with Shila and encourages her to go on living despite the killing of her Assyrian surrogate parents by Tegi. When Shila spurns an amorous Nemorat one evening, he goes into a violent rage causing him to faint. He is then poisoned by his ambitious chief overseer Kefren and his mistress. Shila is convicted of the murder and sentenced to be buried alive with Nemorat. Resi comes up with a plan to save Shila by having her take a drug, which causes her to lapse into a temporary coma, while he bribes the chief of the "house of death" to allow him to take Shila away in the middle of the night. The chief of the house of death proves treacherous, but in a struggle with Resi he is killed. Resi is seriously wounded and is rescued and tended by his faithful servant, but he does not recover before Shila is entombed with Pharaoh Nemorat. The common people, who have benefited from Resi's care, help him in capturing the royal architect, who helps Resi and his associates, greedy tomb robbers, break into Nemorat's tomb. Shila is saved and she rides off with Resi to freedom, while Kefren is killed when Tegi finds out that it was he who poisoned Nemorat.

Cast

* Debra Paget as Shila *

Ettore Manni Ettore Manni (6 May 1927 – 27 July 1979) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1952 and 1979. Life and career Born in Rome, Manni debuted as an actor in 1952, when in spite of his acting inexperience he wa ...

as Resi *

Erno Crisa Erno Crisa (10 March 1914 – 4 April 1968) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1944 and 1968. His last film was the spaghetti western ''Sugar Colt''. Partial filmography * ''Croisières sidérales'' (1942) ...

as Kefren *

Corrado Pani Corrado Pani (4 March 1936 – 2 March 2005) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Rome, Pani began his career playing the role of Jesus as a child in a Radio Vaticana radio drama. He made his film debut in 1953, with ...

as Nemorat *

Yvette Lebon Yvette Lebon (14 August 1910 – 28 July 2014) was a French actress. Biography Lebon studied music and art before going into acting. During World War II, she was the mistress of Jean Luchaire, a French journalist and press baron executed after ...

as Tegi *

Robert Alda Robert Alda (born Alfonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo; February 26, 1914 – May 3, 1986) was an Italian-American theatrical and film actor, a singer, and a dancer. He was the father of actors Alan and Antony Alda. Alda was featured in a ...

as Inuni *

Rosalba Neri Rosalba Neri (born 19 June 1939) is a retired Italian actress. Early life Born in Forlì, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Neri was regarded for her beauty even in youth, winning a beauty pageant when she was still young. Eventually pursuing an acting ca ...

Release

''Cleopatra's Daughter'' was released in Italy on 7 December 1960.

References

Bibliography

External links

*
''Cleopatra's Daughter''
at

Variety Distribution Variety Distribution is an Italian-based film distribution company. It distributes Italian films worldwide, produced from the 1930s onward. History Variety Distribution (formerly Variety Film and Variety Communications) has been in the film p ...