It's a nice but regular historical flick and in Peplum style . A classy story of the power struggle and how a common soldier risks his life to serve her queen. Alexandria , 46. B.C. , there takes place a hard battle between Egyptian queen Cleopatra (Pascale Petit) and her brother Ptolemy XIII (Corrado Pani) , both of whom fight for the Egyptian throne after the death their father . Ptolemy vanquishes and Cleopatra is incarcerated . Then , Achilles (George Ardisson ) a guard officer helps her to escape . Later on , they look for Pompeius (Akim Tamiroff) . Pompeio , who was previously defeated in Farsalia battle , goes on fighting against Caesar . At the end Cleopatra meets Julius Caesar (Gordon Scott) after rolled herself up into a carpet and he becomes infatuated with her .
Intermittenly interesting extravaganza about the known queen and her adventures , while attempting to be Queen of the powerful Egypt . It's a little bit boring but the history aficionados will appeal some historical recreation and appearance of historic roles . This Sword and Sandals movie functions like a blimp-size , multi-colored sleeping tablet and really fictional story . Historical characters are utterly dwarfed by the tongue-in-cheek style and some lousy interpretations . The dialog , cinematography , and direction combine to cast a passable and attractive movie , though it is spoiled by the excessively ironic tone . Atmospheric sets , functional costumes , ordinary stars , massive scope , opulently grotesque interiors , including great spectacle of crowd scenes decently staged . Audiences are benumbed by a show of crowd scenes , many of them stock shots from other Roman films .
Pascale Petit seems to be enjoying herself in the lead role in this hokey ,overdone Peplum . Pascale looks often acts like a very young sexy bomb ruler . Gordon Scott in a brief intervention is hopelessly wooden . Support cast is passable , full of Italian actors and two American ones : Akim Tamiroff , Gordon Scott , Rik Battaglia , Corrado Pani , Franco Volpi as Apollodoro , Ennio Barbo , Barbara Loy , Aurora Del Alba , ,and Giovanni Cianfriglia . The motion picture was regularly directed by Piero Pierotti, and Viktor Tourjansky .
The movie is freely based on historical events , taking real parts here and there : the actual deeds were : It deals with the epic lives of Cleopatra , Julius Caesar , and Pompeius . It's created the first triumvirate formed by Caesar , Pompeyus and Crasus . Caesar fights against Pompeyus who's vanquished in Farsalia . Julius goes to Alejandria , Tolomeo hands over the Pompeyo's head to Caesar who rules over Egypt and gives up the throne to Cleopatra . After that , the out-of-wedlock son of Cleopatra with Caesar is seen to be a threat to his future leadership . Brutus and other Roman legislators scheme the assassination of Caesar . As Julius Caesar is killed by Bruto and Casio . Later on , it happens the second triumvirate : Marc Anthony commands Egypt , Lepido rules Africa and Octavio Augustus governs over Rome and Hispania . Marc Anthony is married to Octavia , Augustus's sister . Then , Marcus Antonius is wedded to Cleopatra , but things don't turn out so well and they are defeated by Octavio Augustus in Actium .
Other films dealing with the infamous Egyptian Queen and her Roman lovers saga are the followings : Silent version ¨Cleopatra¨ 1916 with Theda Bara ; ¨Caesar and Cleopatra¨ by Gabriel Pascal with Claude Rains , Vivien Leigh and Flora Robson , ¨Cleopatra¨ 1934 by Cecil B De Mille with Claudette Colbert , Warren William and Henry Wilconson ; ¨Cleopatra¨ by Joseph L . Mankiewicz with Elizabeth Taylor , Rex Harrison , Richard Burton , Roddy MacDowall , Andrew Keir , and TV adaptation ¨Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra¨ with Richard Johnson and Janet Suzman . And TV series : ¨Cleopatra¨with Timothy Dalton , Billy Zane , and Leonor Varela .
