It's been close to two years since our last installment of Glad Tidings, our pictorial tributes to gladiator movies (which, to be honest, are a sort of fallback post when we've run out of time for something more involved or time-consuming!) Truth is, I've had several instances in a row in which I've watched a movie with the intention of profiling it here, but then have wound up so disinterested in the product that I opted out of it! This time, I happened to watch a movie with no intention of paying tribute to it, but then discovered that it had some imagery and attributes that I felt like mentioning/sharing here. The film is
Antony and Cleopatra (1972), a labor of love of Charlton Heston's that fizzled at the box office and slipped into obscurity. However, with the passage of time, it has amassed a certain level of appreciation from Shakespearean aficionados and fans of costume epics. The movie, which was beset by financing and distribution issues, scarcely has an American poster out there to be found! Most of the ones in use are, like this one, Belgian. And now to some of the screencaps from this famous story of love and war, with comments whenever warranted. (You may view the movie in widescreen
here if you wish!)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-1xFMC7nXGTLFDALE4MvwGMzAfkdJOuEpM8CtV_AeMmmpLh5opmlSEOHQ5HApxfDQepUL4hG6VaSMAuSzN_D8x4ziUA9voBWEYlxfgjjEcTdx45xJpZWMzBQZaHU34gM6wp6KQFYlUD1h/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+11.43.10+AM.png.jpg) |
Having ridden ferociously through the city with a message from Rome for Marc Antony, the messenger is told to wait. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDJrTOOAGGzZ8m1SW8UA6lw54yTj_ocBGJ5sIXuyQ9jqPEK6XQ2zbDp6hEtxhF_piNXChO_zJ6II55D1_38XehN9nRauAfiP5kWb8WIoBNPTo-bT1orcUM2n6ULoKiUIldWw_g_rRN36e/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+11.38.24+AM.png.jpg) |
He's busy at the moment! Cleopatra (Hildegarde Neil) is adorning her lover Antony (Charlton Heston) with makeup and jewelry...! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4l-FHpwXlLQ-f8P23pxrVTcjMBt-ga3nqGveHKhlJdiHJN1ac3LQRK8O5-Am-tEavu_oi0tyPk-l_6jNlpfiIKFeRoHbC9Fkfa9vrOKhVZ388TbTe6MM7bT9E7br58FedFNV-s4m3TsVY/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+11.48.32+AM.png.jpg) |
Meanwhile, Neil's entourage is gathered in a nearby room, hearing the predictions of a soothsayer. We absolutely love her servant Alexas in the aqua-colored tunic. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg227nSarJmcrf7_IYez7f-Qn8XGSf9x0WQS4ZwfE9Vz2DMaZMYX6MaJ55DKzM3fbcXUAOteRyKmCY2Fz7apbZ8JLmVo61fhqDg_DMQ92BzNginl_x0ST9VAgc6MMMcLfQpAXqzJ8BDD6Fl/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+11.49.39+AM.png.jpg) |
Alexas was played by Juan Luis Galiardo, a gorgeous Spanish leading man from the 1960s through the early-2010s. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbIj8R0UEM3mcKM9C_ccfr3N2wzl21xWEjuxKT84mXgeJoea_C7EJ6aaQVv8LaUKePMSEBrt2uwyQ4QlZJdPmFiyWEUS5SW9vg9FNmaKQYePLpXDwQLWuDi1shRXpJy3aNGqj0ImjWP0JU/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+11.52.05+AM.png.jpg) |
Neil's servant Charmian was played by Jane Lapotaire who would play Cleopatra herself about a decade later (and to a fair amount of derision) in a television version of this play. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiluCdL9dLjbce3sLn42FUAftQBjBWPncgp9ddLgOgyaii3wBQqdbON8P6jq93PYsBoRWp-C0E6ZXwwtummSAis9hCVQbzaeX4ggo5HZNAy6PKE1yahcCGCMb7JrwrvaPsexlZzE4PGH96e/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+11.55.53+AM.png.jpg) |
Finally ready to meet with the bearer of news, Heston emerges in his barely buttoned robe. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggCPUnH6B0pGmCP93VfywAS6CutjcKmeFC3As11iXEUAuFsfWeGZkjA_neNTsrcAVXq_JhRulNqb6gnjFyK5foa7wLH_cJZdVrjtnBJTEplLzwejCC36qbP_bN07vykm7GHSxTL4jgQotH/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+11.56.27+AM.png.jpg) |
The Roman Proculeius is played by Julian Glover. This part is the one that Heston once played on Broadway opposite the legendary Katherine Cornell. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8aIZVjY88sEfQ1pZeVv1_Co4vzD46LhwNDlrPz9t99JB6383-XQhLBwUL9hLwyyB6gDA-iQKKZ8YXnsV70dK6wACf8K1bPR6yjksIsYSNpAG0Tyxb0XPIc7u6wJO6ixTW6MRO-0J-EYGZ/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+11.57.07+AM.png.jpg) |
Heston's robe is unbuttoned so far down that we can't help but wonder what, if anything, is underneath! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5G8qm-bOOyX_gy8nvx3V3Xe0fEs26kCzobPJxKvzMsb_BC-uCBJuXEbN5K_HHZNriiWxh1uHVIV37-MZ5UIrvg-YHWASjkdBbLDi7ofRh5wvv4ZL6SHHbj4Gr9vTbud0yV2sUvdihSbXF/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.10.19+PM.png.jpg) |
Just when we think we'll lose our mind if we don't figure out what he's got under that cloak... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyMWE-NBAnnhCMiMIg0rEjrF_wKm6zm3MchuqsPgJgkWlDjsGl_96NA1ga4HWIQRTif5bwIEjMFB_ZubQ9ucEZhdIG1RBAYxUep2XLyhe_cBhUjaafmTnUBmhqn9FqtjbtTnL8US2tdJhX/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.11.15+PM.png.jpg) |
...he tears it off and shows us. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-R1jNmirymNhHw3mZfd56o3-_SOydGF4UOX2eknSPJvpcqSEO8dgo-6yJK_ln6Z47Uz-buTxKk9g1_0Jowfn5gmdRw9JqGphSEOb5gSklQRTWmH6iiPvo8JJoiRgSzAnb73s4FKHxwk-R/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.16.15+PM.png.jpg) |
Outdoing the skimpy loincloths of Ben-Hur (1959) and Planet of the Apes (1968), he's got on a teeny little set of briefs with a hilarious modesty panel in front. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLiAsw7GcB5HldOUSmt2btlyRJSwaVFKH0tLJddTPVTxe2wWYDuBT1qey6-Nc2fiNjEEJHTxjVWbH2tKMUwoFqhOQ788Euv3ED1we0oJxtfQXSJ8eJHo-PqZgFsaQwx1yqb1wXXg5hLvKl/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.22.33+PM.png.jpg) |
"Curtain up!" Ha ha! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBNKpOiEGu_Vqnm8Gk7fSMJVvPW14nuJIKps1G2Aqv9iOqfct-a3kaBP_Z-KEPslY_KoaOcb9PCRPyC8DScCiD2yDl7tyKPfqX1ZcBjameEyG0vGB8fIvObDYPufm8u9BpNxV8GllQ4EzG/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.24.00+PM.png.jpg) |
Heston actually wore something even more scanty than this, if you can believe it, at the start of Julius Caesar (1970), in which he also played Marc Antony. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrdglnUDMjTxnModCkmqVH4OV2UnI6hkzW8PJqhVIUlHXOgEW8atBRGaXSR0EqJXQwbPNUJCtm7Qk5fIBLvhN_cdgR84kbG8bDdG87IzzHWxJMs8lMAUZm8gohBLVZOqBliIEq4I5S26pp/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.24.34+PM.png.jpg) |
Enter Octavius Caesar... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimww6JWwIohXvsZrou3p_FvdyxIOH976KOenjrN6AgsaJHfcY1kBU10LEoV35bwisBXDYaW9kfmzvibguo-NrNPXdKMjeeapmGadkT2m9058ZChZ0MWy8bv_BfEIpq7-IFxDyTlg-mah3Z/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.26.39+PM.png.jpg) |
...as played by John Castle. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie33knrqOTRc0n_jw8pM7uGli09sX548VEmRmFo8RqxGemiEnQ4jweYXTRQHAJNjPftQQO091mXbtPCZC13N9XZd-rBDYUaZYkSUcQbuvr7yAvRBdjNUcYJ2fGwv72MD6ilgh0Cy360Fb4/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.27.52+PM.png.jpg) |
See? Even though I've stretched the point a little, this is a sort of gladiator movie. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibNKGw79O6Qeo26erGdfNE-pEBWzj_oqBnFmOQiN4c9z48qUZV_5yx5KxTvH2tzxfCE1EUbKq_oIBunZSwyAQ5JNlsudpWflup9ID_sRZKbPj0ZuATR1ZPC-W8Kl8OpPNoQGQqK1GokvTu/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.30.56+PM.png.jpg) |
You might recall Castle as one of Katharine Hepburn's sons in The Lion in Winter (1968) or as The Duke in Man of La Mancha (1972.) |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL0ZY7lP5umhE_n9_E1SLFry-T_OOQW6EgKxhfpeosbqBLOWzB5uprLh06WXApJqrdA5KRiskiHzTc93_T7Y9ffVEmNjeWpf6Zb51xgQch0iyvF44FtEin3MR8_ap-Tuy1q5dR8SsLS42w/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.32.05+PM.png.jpg) |
Up the lazy Nile... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTs1gBQJoKmmucPowsq77ksWOCVEgXv5EJQtsmQXY56dSIhZMN8oMWjYPI4l4wVDmwftYe6fYYKgUuZSl4nVes-fbNkI3NLjSJ1pDD0deSgKuHiO_ZI4thylySwEpPD2nMXGEokoSE_O7Y/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.32.28+PM.png.jpg) |
How can I get a hand-held fan like this? |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnenptHycycZNYg1Yzz1txtc5_DeH3Xe9QJeHXqy_hUYhjUA7f0Azch1hmweG1j-sOEy8G3X6vZN9xS_9fZUGEZFqUPihH4ZJE1GfSPn-CSXdTHO6XTGjCiPPWW4c_mavzKTFFwUNSluQ/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.32.57+PM.png.jpg) |
And how can I get a job like this?? |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuKm2NunG_4ysD3HLeWpsClwQwWQvKhaIS0fg_uOjoMrK1ecpNS2ohkMmcfv1OzHCy_WF5Qmwz8HxRj1Srr_0VXg0R3ylSfFzamv2acEW9fTHHeWAPT4lILDaUwKBCrqaYvjFPe1go3tr6/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.36.24+PM.png.jpg) |
Party time on the battleship. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNjUDxv2imqCy7X4WkX-XrP41I8YTJty0c79lk6aJqTd40h0wGaVpwQeqr3j-NQ5GXHIFxco5arOVWyBV30PcppePSNMDFOokih7qZEwuVsjdOc1kyg8Ij44tvxmCk-RUWuUHg3L_YkLau/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.39.19+PM.png.jpg) |
With only one chick (upside down in red), it looks like some of the guys might have to pair off! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7dUfYj7oyzciNkXWqlMDwPwy1XLIWgMxpZz3y0QUcReDf2urSgm1_mNjgX0WHmi_-VwXv62TlFn2hWmmCRUOL3MXQduoed_1AQVXyiRV27tsaD_M7iIr91yEjDeJigHVFzDRc0EmtaFR/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.40.44+PM.png.jpg) |
Party time at Cleo's place. |
|
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXmRxVxbuGucN8zkykCwiniYrI_8fRtOhbXHLwwSAYxP9u0bI8oqri15BYxch9subdiu7_j0cTgXihjnCw5uy6Xn4MBz8daRQu_5tiawcyJu4POkUUWa4K8Fg2uBaD32_YtBZl4UdfWap1/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.40.58+PM.png.jpg) |
Meet Eunuch and the Castros. Any requests? |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWTAOe85s6U8p8_t88Y4jJXjKWYxUv-BPgs6PaLIh4MCW76M9Bq7F4sxKYC17YycyqyZ5u2gW0TTVcxE5Iu4SWdvMNdW_uPJ67_Wz5IPmV3EYeWYKN0CS85DZiOmJUAYY3r01ZIMDNhoig/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.41.33+PM.png.jpg) |
You may have to stab your own dinner in the aquarium... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGz97Hmc5_BV8ToYMEhZQNFazM0uzaLFzr0cfNOe1Mh_eYZHB1XPK3CddQucgZysHLkQsqWJMbx-3dL9pMsyiBr50pedgJCt3lU-OoC3Lop_8MhdTD5ewsj_CdWf-8wByt0FOx5VPzHj1z/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.44.04+PM.png.jpg) |
As a child in elementary school, aqua was my favorite color, but I outgrew it. Now I'm rethinking that decision...! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhghxaMlAcNri0gR6wl5AAlRndk_SKwCNizNMZPZWy2wxT0urEvDt7gCnxLcnYz1kNx9Gm9nNjxFQ92zy1dSUq1godoIWrFNIt7L4eMVoCklnvevzoc6n7IriV2ez9E-DF7H_rVVdLqjjk/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.45.44+PM.png.jpg) |
Neil (who has few fans of her work here as Queen of the Nile) reminded one imdb.com commenter of the principal in Rock 'n Roll High School (1979), played by Mary Woronov. For a chuckle, look it up... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtWSjsZaCo8vgRN2R86mL24Fq6J_Ts0n0-_u_FssFJTbkMZUaYhkZzis5Msp6gp3pn84bvcl5JGKH7mNCpLbQqymgh6qeEx8E5BfrBkI8NWXkowg0GMxC3BrOjdHyD5Aq-ukR8b2cyn01Q/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.49.41+PM.png.jpg) |
You're showing us the wrong pouch, Alexas! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8AwhmXjwMtChRGo-P2YU7l6jFnOPGuy68EmHYfuh0ClrYySpit2_XPb_3OLfXf4DtnOFMcizvgBvMItV26rSA4JihYa1tahYAlaBf9oGu-PXqM8bkozXst43iv1v01m9aluMAAZzMQtg6/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.50.55+PM.png.jpg) |
Handsome Mr. Galiardo worked this same year in Heston's Call of the Wild, but suffered a serious nervous breakdown amid that troubled production at a strenuous location. Part of his role had to be replaced by another actor & character. He made a full recovery, though, and went on to a lengthy career in Spain up until his 2012 demise from cancer at age seventy-two. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOTMi5MezRj7e4diB3S0vKUhjwH8cSa8AlvTV8PToVhfbO7JooqMLS9uaYsYBH4NL0m66SwDyCcbyedyxYUAIHIPABfZpCVfjGS5q5ikfyS6peApomRZYNdQzJPIoSsiGK9PBE3waAj6ed/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+4.06.18+PM.png.jpg) |
Heston is often derided for his granite-like visage, which works sometimes and sometimes not. Neil was capable of some very severe, nearly deranged expressions at inappropriate times. Here, she reminds me of something one of my catty friends once said about Elijah Wood... that he never blinks and must have eyelids that close from the bottom instead of the top like a lizard! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJmkDG-pmdZEZuzh2B5W2iJd0OpLgcCd-w_RA375Yjo1Cgdz4RJ2aekOp5OrvCZwA9bme30kb41288F3t9TKJVm24umLhniV0kIB7KtT8PZj9ao9CrtY1GCzdO0FClCyQW8ABkKy7-Jz5/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+4.08.48+PM.png.jpg) |
One doesn't always think of Cleopatra as being in armor (Lord knows Liz didn't don any!), but here she is in battle gear of a sort. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfBI-9bgIvOoHrpqJeSm4yViUlzzgp0ztjkSEx703yQb8NFxeesK0KuFLyx6tCZJiV56Njugx8SyUfHUdlnyoTCRKvWEnAmpS1Kn-1fJ8bv3nawYjxppmyBzR5gWfhOZVLZ6_Y9Lclu2m3/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+8.17.38+AM.png.jpg) |
It's really just a helmet and shoulder pads, sorta like what one might wear to a construction site in order to avoid injury. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-tnQT9NQzgCWOW7oX5pgILiePefis5E0CqPg6TALAXWsVdSkmzrhXu2eXxNKzfrjaK0waGlvcd4h1LeXZESZU7CmOcQfUhc5W5kcvKSa8Udi2uQ1wUmichWI1CtG-6q1zioGWEWWKyk3s/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+8.27.41+AM.png.jpg) |
Heston, who also directed this film, used outtakes from Ben-Hur (1959) in order to fill out the sea battle sequence. Some scenes cribbed from The Robe (1953), too! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDd406a6yjRwDBhfrUiz2ZJxiImoz8mkNFsnx8HFLZ04xJX1Z0vqd684uLpmFakah1IKCNvwm7OejtlM2vQd9r7DztIdOKbpoAKJByy0_3IMIrLfMSPQQYWhyRatsf5fXgQB6QnaV5ut9h/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+8.28.46+AM.png.jpg) |
In close-up, we see things like this... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-LotSzIrqiXsROduCzDfpO_cczd-sHxLNh4K6fGCVKKhk-ovYxlIh_qPnOIzA0rMXHfVdsZsusU0qcUfvhPuufkFbzyyvV5U7vhmumGLV7J94xDpaHT7LFZNbf5jPxN4NwaAatvZ7-H8/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+8.29.39+AM.png.jpg) |
...which supposedly is happening at the same time as this! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNMucOwZj0jVhd8By4ey5ztig9RFcBKBgL3RK6lT4MhFK5AoTa7tmGs_ugS2xulPXITrNsuAMDbGOF8G3j443w-hWfUdNZw3L4Ksp5vOQEbY-cyoch3_kB0sgM7_PAICs29uzq0mzHi0r/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+8.48.07+AM.png.jpg) |
I love Castle's eyes here. True, he doesn't exactly provide a gallery of facial expressions (another one of my friends is always accusing him of having a "who farted?" look on his face!), but I nearly always enjoy him in things and I love the cut of his jawline. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksukRTbNsI1-sVekI2aFT0YU-wwP6-8wUp-0o1tN-bG2wNrl-xX6BHGss0iF7wziwpEJ3jl65RjTzXGNUf8v21T0hog-xnDcKFPQTZyCYif7S4xzjBDcyRlbjGU8oYH4BzSZU7jdhBaO_/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+8.48.57+AM.png.jpg) |
Neil wasn't trying to ape La Liz, necessarily, but even if she wanted to, she'd be closer to 1972 Liz than 1963...! Is this the hair you expect to see on Cleopatra?! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIosQTGGksGLGR1MkhDXluIcv7E5P8sM3c3SrD4fjGw26oPVtjvYaaNQaJ-LQEJwwr80jOv9yfYafqMs0Kz4RvS7TCFbk8cOGaFh7qSmI3_yx0ccrpy8tY3eQ4RfHhkn01p9edP0dWj7-/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+8.51.57+AM.png.jpg) |
If you really look at these "soldiers" from the "Egyptian" army, there are some that are either startlingly thin or staggeringly out of shape. And these are the gents they put in front! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaS2FHNDQFUw97lHtzokJ8GCMQ-aXwkIoWIWh2Y40zd0eHZy5yCaJHsmxI9s9-CAp6e5Sn1J0eRMbDEaSZj4w1z_XhNqQOEfw0uQUuiIck5GMViLMMWhWHnvwnpTc0_hpyRyoYKlYqwsnI/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+8.52.24+AM.png.jpg) |
I did like the swan-like horn that the bugler tooted on. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSca3hx36dcpBni584OYdVbnLW7zacBiaAQcy4TAwL_vgbEOqrkbNuW-reuhewJNSNETd_6DpuXXkSL0-hqctsp0Es5ZqdR6qTkDr2O2caWbVj1YNydzaz-dkZTywoyzLnSY7zbLHMcVM3/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+8.58.48+AM.png.jpg) |
This was a spectacular stunt that I truly hope didn't injure the horse. Both it and the rider went careening down a hill, somersaulting! Note the stuntman instantly drops his sword. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxIvGV8Kv-hxLtIHG_k4o3yCowIHcNjgm0EMW67Br3HTqwQjXSqUILW5RhEpV7nwWzDaCHeB2EcsAAm_QZVp6-z2z6TTYdxI5X5wDx1dj1Y5_p2HKjsOC7obZITWZ7bhi38U6saVIY5O5Z/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+8.59.16+AM.png.jpg) |
Surely the man had something on, like flesh-toned tights, but it looks for all the world like he's bare-assed during the scene! LOL |
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When Heston did his roll in the dirt, he still had his sword in hand, which was long gone in the stuntman shot. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgk4szOwgjNJQvxKzjegtsanjMREOhYt3BXwF14xHwMuzUjJyyvDSJ8DU6lgMc6PGJ4DQRlehJddtKY8i8HRZxnJ98je519rQ_UgvbPfPENPnwKmN4nhy_SOyJvf6eATOcVCqiCH9pNodU/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+9.04.22+AM.png.jpg) |
The eunuch Canidius, whose look I love, was played by Sancho Gracia. He had a lengthy screen career of nearly fifty years until lung cancer claimed him in 2012 at age seventy-five. It was he who took over for Galiardo on Call of the Wild. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZV8Fsm525AXKBRQS-x_xLMUB4TlX13HI0fkKW1jVl12nJrIBAxTObgvi1ndwnYSCZB9rJlBcDbG8e9k13EWUJNjppTydy-A1cs8F-qjHAmYsoV96mMBSZhfspbc0f1KKnFqSCLG0yWePH/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+9.05.14+AM.png.jpg) |
I'm sorry, you want me to WHAT? |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjGQeSEOxirA-jW_F7Azn_3ecpX0eclIKDMZIhbC-Ew9TKrBrvOxnWmSMJpuuHKVl2tV2pD5dmoXQOoN6bz30jNQrjgmHJmouQP0tNsZrlpps1DAbeFoZQLBWnjwZtB2tVIcWg7fcFDHA/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+9.08.31+AM.png.jpg) |
This was another nifty stunt. Glover wants inside that pyramid. So as he's talking to Cleopatra... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnwXzFfEOGvLJYK5thDFy4b9KLf5D09udsMzpmSbu2dwmuYc9dfPSnEihXURLxEmmKwvVko98lFA-3JG3TP5r5wvbiHxgF1GY4W1Dj5yMwzyeZ-CezA39T5g0U5qpOpoQZAvTEdEKSJ9WD/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+9.10.05+AM.png.jpg) |
...he calls for his guards to make a set of stairs out of their shields... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKegn_KHpUX74kSGEI3503rFzPEvI6tpARmDtB5UHVvNuqcjsGTFqIFBFapM0ugEufbvFkYo_2zoI2Ymp2nz6H8MB1WzjRser6OUlN4C7wtMl5ToOaIUWqrBxno8Ujsk9Nc2gbdkPZ0q0h/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+9.10.23+AM.png.jpg) |
...and runs up them, entering through the open window! |
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I think we all know that this won't end well... |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC_1AZbWZUuJFig6CrtiChIUEUBChYGVD9GUgHJ4Ad-bO5j_Oh0EUpffeRHBp9oHpI0zBYR3NUVmNEiz8kpmGiYI10yUtVGBzhmK-WlK0Ixi-9FUcskrwqYikN-UBCytg1BRp_RWxovOaw/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-17+at+9.13.00+AM.png.jpg) |
What an asp....
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BONUS PICS!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-a8DcllArv8ZOxXFlmqx_DAXhU_m73x-z5ELjuoXFf_eOS_P6xAeH8aSycCN_04juqBmqXMi3YqVbryXpfnYNZHAMK_6YRwkXsEPAhcKjna0o5R0SZ0Zws_GrmYdzzgoyLu_2C36qIOyR/s400/Glad02.jpg) |
Heston caught no small amount of heat for his casting of Ms. Neil. He'd initially wanted Diana Rigg and also sought Anne Bancroft, with Glenda Jackson and Susannah York also being considered, before winnowing the choice down to Neil and Irene Papas. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBupdhLcCPgXnsANQphyphenhyphenYtIzJnWDlke4ljJ3zh84RtY-kd5VVdSGqT47zCTL6nHRggWUOvQ5T9aOUwYqSh8CiVUTGTxI9_bX_92hssm7ZbFDqDVnvzAXN819AdmRiGxQmu77HJytlAIll/s400/Glad01.jpg) |
This languid opening scene was used for the poster art, though Neil was changed to having her ornate headdress on and Heston was depicted wearing earrings and a pearl necklace. (I'm not making this up. See for yourself above!) The pearl necklace made it into the film. He breaks it apart and the beads fall onto her, but the earrings are nowhere in sight. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3HXYEVunMr6hTL4lSFu4kZ8VDXVWdY5R5nQDc_ThL5muEZvA_bMZNSv-hXsJpxC7MGSNahmCvb1xFaMW1JGHK_LX0TfgUM2MZ4J0ZlTizt-L6b8w4zM0X9MmcWwNNd8_bZDrJcnyKX-S/s400/Glad03.jpg) |
However, tireless investigator that I am, I have located an on-set photograph which shows Heston in his bejeweled state, being beguiled by his queenly lover...! This segment was trimmed out of the movie for whatever reason. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic-Wa73m3rSoctULEwYAXbIQzemtjsCCEelr6Fg76e3HVmVa-I4RijcZdOURNOtmzgrXbVC8_dQIlFB-lQpxGCMZ2WC5CGkKzBi7_Q5bmOdWC-DNZ-dyDuL6HuxJ0TWIYUCBhGlNOWz3zd/s400/Glad04.jpg) |
I told you that two years prior, in Julius Caesar (1970), Heston wore even less than he does in this movie as Marc Antony! Here he is about to start a race at the beginning of the movie. His (ugly) wig is three times bigger than his jockstrap! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYS3IJflyeaLbWqCEZHir4Y7sX-Zl4Z3nZj6X2DdmMfTlsF0DipDhymez8cKFqdnmnl9WJkNUT-FdSXefPnvSsK2CyZDjlb_6wK1ReLp6RPCmVV5njf247_KFyeokQ9sKv6DlPZVdvZKqV/s400/Glad05.jpg) |
Heston, a former artist's model, was never too shy about stripping down for his art. His loinclothy parts in The Ten Commandments (1956), Ben-Hur, Apes and even The War Lord (1965) for a little bit can testify to that. He doesn't look as terrific here at nearly fifty as he did in his prime, but few do. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80Y2nRAoaL5-ZfZDiyt951dDUQy6HCAs2asnrgOS0VxFYZvTt_JpCgtPVopICYVTOpcn1eVxgKPa-Rp1Jz9LIvcKbQMiSCsLa3jVJKW6mMDPJhyphenhyphen1HtBdJEXEgAXsuOeEzMkQinmI0qmcw/s400/Glad08.jpg) |
A simple day at the beach was cause for beefcake, palpably on display...! But did you know that it was this was at the very dawn of his career? |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaalvoGHzoBkr6OqS2bPVi2D-cj0H2mQUS0mbuwEqoEgF3-P90UW5ftPKRz7VvKAXpjgXpfjd9rSIREjJYGaPr27x1Y3sOpkOQrYOMgqIInJ3be5ym-ymh52rYaOe6QO3Bhusu_65JeUko/s400/Glad06.jpg) |
In 1950, for the low-budget Julius Caesar, the first time he played Marc Antony, he spends the first fifteen minutes or so in this abbreviated costume! He even shows the better part of his ass briefly as he departs the scene. I guess if it's The Bible or Shakespeare one can get away with nearly anything...! |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjR9ZauSotxXzu1fCOn6w5tHSlzKnUKSecgnKtf6j5WR1JkOOFX8D-7MLbwveUJBU1BUAhPmMuVk7TEo0sPiGubxnzKVxuGcH27YDIL7MTSZ5mLk5uzzzHa2Q1bYrtj8OntpijAO82_5y/s400/Glad06b.jpg) |
So his twenty-plus years of trotting around in next to nothing began right off the bat in 1950. |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKsHCUaxlMROKVBSzECmUzcVdt4ZpxOlUOV2DlRSdCGgvnHCPcBADZwh3H7s2Qb6xAn41vAa2WQjztcfEBWcQMGl7OeCwT1Qlm9AxhYBS5EnBnq5tvlJIdAGruhWLxLv1nC2cTgXAf3G3R/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-02-14+at+3.17.27+PM.png.jpg) |
The End! |
10 comments:
I accidentally had my picture taken with Charlton Heston! In 1985, The AFI had a 20th anniversary dinner in DC at the National Building Museum. I was one of the volunteers asked to attend. As I was leaving, a burst of flashbulbs went off. I was pretty certain they weren't for me, then looked to my side and there was Moses! I was surprised to realize he wasn't much bigger than me.
One of the other volunteers came rushing to our table. "Guess what, I just peepeed in a stall next to Brooke Shields!". Someone asked if Brooke peepeed hard or soft - whatever does that mean?
About the only other stars I can remember being there were Steve Martin and Celeste Holm, looking as lovely as you could wish.
Anyway, although we appreciate the thought, by the time this movie came around Charlton should have left the burlesque show to his adorable costar Galiardo. Chuck is coming perilously close to "Cross Your Heart" time here.
I am flabbergasted that after the 1960 Taylor Burton debacle any one could get this financed. Weird year as the film quality and color looks 60s but the ugly hairdos and "real looking"(ugly) actors place it squarely in the 70s. Turning 55 this week I mustsay I have to hand it to Heston for putting it all out there at his age. His ego is definitely bigger than his loincloth.
Greetings, Poseidon et al...
I was not aware of this movie at all! Though I enjoyed your post, I don't think I will rush to locate and watch this one...great captures, as always, and I like that you mentioned Sancho Gracia - I never heard of him, but I like the pics of him, particularly the ones with his big lyre thrusting up from his open thighs...ha-ha!
The bonus pics are especially entertaining, and as fetching (well, I always liked daddies) as Mr. Heston might be, that lad in the thong next to him in pic two of the Julius Caesar flick was the true star of that movie.
Hey Poseidon,
At 50ish, I don't think Chuckston looks bad at all. From what I read, he was pretty athletic and clean living. But this was before the era of actors as athletes, started by Stallone and Jane Fonda later in the '70s.
I always thought Heston was very attractive, but I could never stomach the sardonic stud routine he played outside his historical epics. Especially, as he got older, I wanted someone to punch his face in movies like Soylent Green.
Worse, he still tried to pull off that routine on The Colbys. There, he's married to Stephanie Beacham, in fine form and 25 years his junior. Meanwhile, his latest rug looks indoor/outdoor, teeth discolored, and sporting a belly. Their love scenes were blech because of him.
But in his day...
Cheers, Rick
First of all, I'm cringing hearing that Irene Papas almost got the role of Cleopatra in this film. She would have been perfect casting, given that the real Cleopatra was Greek (Macedonian), and with her profile she strongly resembles the few portraits that exist.
Even though we tend to think of Cleopatra as "Egyptian" and therefore think of the wig with the bangs and braids Neil wears in a lot of the photos, that pulled-back "70s" hairstyle you question is actually closer to the way her hair is shown in her portraits. (Neil's is just bouffed out more Hollywood-style.) I suppose Cleo must have worn wigs and headdresses for certain ceremonial purposes, but Egypt was fairly solidly under Greek influence by this point.
I remember JULIUS CAESAR getting a write-up in PHOTOPLAY or MODERN SCREEN or some other "movie mag" of the period, in which they gushed about Heston's near-nudity. Only the article (no pics) claimed that there was no string holding the pouch up and quoted crew members speculating on how it was staying on. One jokingly suggested he was using a clothespin, while another said, "He's Moses, so he can work miracles."
Heston seemed really to be into flaunting his body. He also did a discreet rear nude shot in PLANET OF THE APES and a "side nudity" shower scene in NUMBER ONE around this time, and was supposedly known for nude sunbathing on the roof of the studio when he was under contract. I've seen a not-completely-revealing photo of Heston that may have been a candid taken during one of those sessions.
Yul Brynner was also not shy about exposing his body (and there are full-frontal photos to prove it), so I guess THE TEN COMMANDMENTS must've been a fun shoot if they ever got competitive.
Dan, that's wild that you were side by side with Mr. H. and got to see the others. Hilarious about poor Brooke Shields. I have to guess that "hard and soft" refers to the velocity of the stream and whether it makes much noise or not hitting the water of the bowl. I am cracking up because one time years ago my (female) then-boss and I were discussing and unloved coworker and - as an afterthought - she threw in "and Bev pees so hard...! It's like sitting next to a horse when you're in the next stall." Ha ha ha!!! I can't imagine anyone asking that about someone famous, though. How funny! Regarding the "Cross Your Heart" thing. One thing that drives me crazy about Chuck in so many of his (latter day) shirtless and semi-nude scenes is that he doesn't STAND UP STRAIGHT! Having better posture and carriage would have eliminated some of that sagginess in the chest....
Gingerguy, I hear you about the earlier "Cleopatra," but you have to realize that even though that movie nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox, it was a HUGE box office draw. Teeming hordes of people went to see it. There was just no earthly possibility of it making its money back after the squalid waste of time and resources that went into making it. So it was a flop, but had the budget been kept in line it would have been a massive money maker.
jobj69, I'm glad you liked Sancho. I bet there are many movies out there of his to see as he was a very busy star of Spanish cinema for many years! And, yes, I made sure not to crop out the bubble-butted competitor of Mr. Heston in that pic! ;-)
Rick, I know people have to like what they like and see what they want to see, but I am almost totally disinterested in today's performers who act with their abs (and actually find it sort of offensive that an actor is practically required to become a gym rat in order to take his shirt off in a movie, unless he's comic relief and is meant to be dumpy or out of shape.) Perhaps that's hypocritical of me since I just spent a whole post salivating over Robert Conrad, but he was an exception to most other leading men. Now that's the expected norm. I was thinking about Heston in "Earthquake" and how his macho persona sort of grated on me when it came to Genevieve Bujold. And my God, the way he played in "Airport 1975" with Karen Black: "Take it easy, honey," "Come on baby..." it was just too much. But much of it was the time, too. As for "The Colbys," I simply was never able to wrap my mind around how he could choose Katherine Ross over Stephanie Beacham... for any reason!
hsc, you're correct. And I almost withdrew my remark about Neil's hair in that one photo because it is rather Grecian, but yet it was still bouffant enough that I went ahead and said it. I have a feeling that violet-eyed Liz somehow led people to go with a similar sort versus the dark-eyed Papas. God knows she probably would have been a more considerable actress in the part. (And she blinks from the top instead of the bottom. LOL) Hilarious about the speculation of how Heston's loincloth stayed up and on. As you can see, no movie magic. It's just a thong, basically...! Those pics of Heston out there in which he's in a little pair of dark briefs with shiny circles on them? His wife Lydia (who was also a nude figure model in her early days) made that for him! I find the whole paradox of Mr. Buttoned-Up barely wearing anything in his outdoor time sort of amusing. BTW, there was a rear nude scene filmed for "Julius Caesar" in which he was in a bathtub and then stood up in the presence of a woman, but it didn't make the final cut. A pic or two is out there floating around. His rear end had a weird sort of heart shape to it that didn't really do it for me. (Like that matters! Ha ha!)
Thanks all, for your input and remarks!
You know, that cut scene from JULIUS CAESAR is probably the one that was being filmed when that article recounted the reactions of the crew. Heston probably used one of those strapless g-strings they still use today (they sometimes call it "the sock") when actors have to do nudity.
Of course, these days on shows like SPARTACUS, they're also covering their real anatomy with prosthetic genitalia! (So weird that the SPARTACUS crew dubbed the male prosthetic "the Kirk Douglas"-- I bet that didn't make a single obituary! LOL!)
I bet you're right! The scene has him in the water, naked at least from behind, then standing. It must have taken some serious spirit gum to hold the sock on after all that! (Filming is a slllooooww process!) Ouch! As to the "Spartacus" thing. Now actors have to be athletes AND demonstrate porn star level penises in order to land a gig on a cable series (or be faced with the prosthetic.) Jesus, what have we come to?! IIRC Manu Bennett chose to just go au naturel because where he is from nudity is no big deal and is as regular as the dawn? Let's see... ticket booked for Rotorua, New Zealand. Check. LOLOL
This whole post was a hoot! To me, Heston always came across so high strung and turgid it's hard to imagine him letting it all hang out, so to speak. That picture of him in the earring and pearls and that caftan looks like he should be the house boy for Roger DeBris and Carmen Ghia! Someone needs to photoshop the 3 of them together. He had to have been aware of how he came across, didn't he?
BrianB
I think that unbuttoned robe Charlton is wearing in the first few pics is one of Liz Taylor's old caftans from "BOOM!".
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