''Cleopatra'' is a 1912 American silent

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

film starring Helen Gardner in the title role and directed by Charles L. Gaskill, based on the 1890 play written by

Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 1831 – 8 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-c ...

. It was the first film to be produced by The Helen Gardner Picture Players. ''Cleopatra'' is one of the early six-reel feature films produced in the United States. Promoted as "The most beautiful motion picture ever made", it was the first to offer a feature-length depiction of Cleopatra, although there had been a

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

about Antony and Cleopatra two years earlier.

Synopsis

In a series of elaborately staged tableaux, it depicts

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

and her love affairs, first with handsome fisherman-slave Pharon, then with

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

Cast

* Helen Gardner as

(credited as Miss Gardner) * Pearl Sindelar as Iras, an attendant (credited as Miss Sindelar) * Miss Fielding as Charmian, an attendant 'First name unknown''* Miss Robson as Octavia, wife of Antony 'First name unknown''* Helene Costello as Nicola, a child (credited as Miss Helene) * Charles Sindelar as Antony, a triumvir and general (credited as Mr. Sindelar) * Mr. Howard as Pharon, a Greek slave and fisherman 'First name unknown''* James R. Waite as Venditius, a Roman soldier (credited as Mr. Waite) * Mr. Osborne as Diomedes, a rich Egyptian 'First name unknown'' * Harry Knowles as Kephren, captain of guards to the queen (credited as Mr. Knowles) * Mr. Paul as Octavius, a triumvir and general 'First name unknown''* Mr. Brady as Serapian, an Egyptian priest 'First name unknown''* Mr. Corker as Ixias, servant to Ventidius 'First name unknown''

Production

''Cleopatra'' was the first film produced by The Helen Gardner Picture Players, Helen Gardner's production company, located in Tappan, New York. Gardner created the company in 1910 after finding success in a series of early 1900s

Vitagraph Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907 ...

shorts. The film's budget was $45,000 (approximately $ today) and featured lavish sets and costumes (Gardner also served as the film's costume designer and editor). Gardner used the natural Tappan scenery for outdoor shots in addition to sets.

Releases

Upon its release, ''Cleopatra'' played in

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

s and theatres. The film was also featured in a theatrical roadshow accompanied by a publicist, manager and a lecturer/projectionist. In 1918, Gardner filmed additional scenes and re-issued the film to compete with the 1917 adaptation released by

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

starring

Theda Bara Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress. Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...

Reception

Film critic Dennis Schwartz described it as "energetic", giving it a B− rating.

Censorship

Like many American films of the time, ''Cleopatra'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For the 1918 release, the Chicago Board of Censors required a cut of the two

intertitle In films and videos, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (hence, ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred ...

s "If I let you live and love me ten days, will you then destroy yourself?" and "Suppose Anthony were told that she leopatrahad just left the embraces of the slave Pharon".

Retrospective appraisal

Literary and film critic

Edward Wagenknecht Edward (Charles) Wagenknecht (March 28, 1900 – May 24, 2004) was an American literary critic and teacher who specialized in 19th-century American literature. He wrote and edited many books on literature and movies, and taught for many years at v ...

reports that he had “much desired” to see Gardner’s 1912 six-reel production of Sardou’s ''Cleopatra'' when he was a 12-year-old boy.Wagenknecht, 1962 p. 26 Not until 1961 did Wagenknecht have an opportunity to view the feature:

Status and restorations

The 1912 version of ''Cleopatra'' still exists in its entirety. In 2000, Turner Classic Movies had the print restored, using an earlier 1960s restoration, and commissioned a new musical score from the husband and wife team of

Chantal Kreviazuk Chantal Jennifer Kreviazuk ( ; born May 18, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, composer, and pianist. Born in Winnipeg, she played music from a young age before signing with Columbia Records in the 1990s. Her debut studio album, ''Under The ...

and Raine Maida. The restored version, complete with color tinting, first aired on TCM in August 2000.

Footnotes

References

* Wagenknecht, Edward. 1962. ''The Movies in the Age of Innocence.''

University of Oklahoma Press The University of Oklahoma Press (OU Press) is the publishing arm of the University of Oklahoma. Founded in 1929 by the fifth president of the University of Oklahoma, William Bennett Bizzell, it was the first university press to be established ...

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous city and the county seat of Clevel ...

External links

* * *
''Cleopatra''
at silentera.com * * {{YouTube, Z8zk4ssv9xU, title=''Cleopatra'' 1912 films 1912 drama films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films 1910s historical drama films 1910s independent films American black-and-white films American films based on plays American historical drama films American independent films American silent feature films Articles containing video clips Censored films Depictions of Cleopatra on film Depictions of Mark Antony on film Films based on works by Victorien Sardou Films set in the 1st century BC Films set in the Ptolemaic Kingdom Films shot in New York (state) Silent American drama films Surviving American silent films English-language historical drama films