Ist ja irre - Cäsar liebt Kleopatra

Perhaps the best of the entire CARRY ON cycle, notable for its reuse of the sets and costumes originally conceived for Joseph L. Mankiewicz's monumental folly CLEOPPATRA (1963), CARRY ON CLEO contains its fair share of innuendo - so thick and intricate, in fact, that viewers can only tease out the brilliance of Talbot Rothwell's script after repeated viewings.

Yet perhaps uniquely among the cycle, this film contains memorable performances too. Amanda Barrie has never been more seductive as Cleopatra she she lolls in her bath of asses' milk tempting Mark Antony (Sidney James) to join her. She remains gloriously empty- headed when faced with any schemes to enact, but certainly knows how to deal with men, especially the duffer Julius Caesar (Kenneth Williams). It is only when she gives Briton Hengist Pod (Kenneth Connor) a love-potion, transforming him from a mouse into a sexual Lothario that she meets her match.

What perhaps distinguishes this film, however, is its metatheatrical awareness. Director Gerald Thomas makes no bones about tracing its origins in music-hall and variety; jokes are delivered as separate lines direct to camera with little concern for dramatic verisimilitude. The cast have no need to; they know that the viewers are waiting for the next innuendo, and they are prepared to glance briefly at the camera before delivering it, taking us into their confidence as they do so.

This makes for both a liberating yet a lasting experience; we feel that we are somehow complicit with the actors in a ritual that we all know and love. It doesn't really matter what the film's subject might be; as if going to pantomime or a variety show, we are there to see our favorite actors doing what they are best at, and participating in a community experience of cathartic laughter. It is this unique quality, shared only by a few films (others might include Abbott and Costello or the Marx Brothers) that invests them with their timeless qualities.

A true classic.

Carry on Cleo is arguably one of the greatest of the Carry on films. It puts so many big budget films, notably Cleopatra, to shame.

It is a visual delight, admittedly it used the scenes from the bid budget flop, but I'd argue they made equally good use here. Awesome costumes, some truly incredible sets. However this film contains style, and substance.

Most of the regulars are here, notable faces missing include Barbara Windsor and Hattie Jacques.

Amanda Barrie gets her biggest Carry on role, she's excellent, and looks amazing, perhaps a more convincing Queen than Taylor was.

They're all amazing, but Kenneth Williams is truly at his best here, he is utterly hilarious, and perhaps gets the best of lines, who will ever forget Infamy, Infamy....

Well over half a century old, and still awesome. 9/10.

This is surely one of the most popular "Carry Ons", a spoof on the notoriously expensive CLEOPATRA (1963) and was in fact shot on abandoned sets built in London for that film! The cast is in top form here – Sidney James is Marc Antony, Kenneth Williams Julius Caesar, Joan Sims is Calpurnia (Caesar's wife), Charles Hatwrey Seneca (philosopher and Sims' father); Kenneth Connor (as Hengist Pod, the inventor of a square wheel and who eventually does a stint as Caesar's 'invincible' bodyguard) and Jim Dale are featured as early Britons; Amanda Barrie – who had previously appeared in CARRY ON CABBY (1963) – makes for a delightful Cleopatra.

Though emerging to be somewhat patchy considering its reputation, there are some undeniably uproarious moments throughout – the Roman soldier throwing a shield at Dale during a scuffle and hitting Connor squarely in the face; the famous carpet-rolling scene introducing Cleopatra in the 1963 Hollywood epic being directly lampooned here by having the Egyptian queen roll under a table replenished with food and spilling its contents onto herself and the floor; untrue to history, Antony connives with Cleopatra to murder Caesar and become Emperor himself – she suggests using a poisonous asp and hands him one from a basket, which he mistakes for a local delicacy and promptly bites off its head! Talbot Rothwell's script also includes a running gag involving the famous "Friends, Romans, Countrymen" Shakespearean speech, as well as an in-joke wherein a couple of traders merge their business – to be known from then on as "Marcus & Spencius"!

Carry on Cleo stands head and shoulders above the rest of this variable comic series, combining a genuinely witty script, excellent performances and good production values (thanks to the use of sets from the previous years Burton-Taylor production).

it seems that the scriptwriter and cast,let off the normal constraints of the series, were determined to excel.

In addition to the oft-quoted Kenneth Williams line ('Infamy, Infamy, they've all got it in for me!'), there are other gems; 'Ptolemy?' , 'I AM TELLING YOU!!!', and to Gloria, the British girl who falls ill aboard ship - 'Oh well, Sic Transit Gloria!'.

If you only see one Carry On film, make sure that this is it.

As I make my way into nine of the Carry On movies, there seems to have been a sudden upswing since Cabby, Cruising and Regardless.

Spying and now this one, Carry On Cleo, are funny.

"Cleo" was all Williams as Ceasar. I don't think anyone else could have done that so-so line and made it funny. "Friends, Romans, . . I know that!"

Okay, Sid James and Kenneth Conner had a bit more material to work with here, namely plot and direction.

Direction would have helped more in earlier ones, such as Regardless and Nurse. I guess the history helped drive Carry On Cleo.

Upon seeing Cleo, I thought Barbara Windsor (whom I had only glimpsed for the first time just earlier when I watched Spying) was the Egyptian queen, and deduced, wow, she used alot of padding in her bra.

Now I read I was in error and it was Amanda Barrie as Cleo. I wonder if Windsor was offered the part of Cleo first?

That soothsayer. What a scene stealer and master at his craft that one was! I liked James and Conner here, but the Soothsayer was running with the movie from them all. Had he hung around, he would have shown Williams how to do it as well, no doubt.

Who was he? Jon Pertwee, Doctor Who #3.

No idea where Hattie Jacques would have fit in this tale. I haven't seen her now since Carry On Cabby. Look forward to what is left, with or without her.

Next up: Carry on Screaming! Heard it is a good one.