Bill-258

Since there have been over 250 "reviews' of this already, I'll be brief. There is no suspense, there is little drama and the general feeling at the end of this tedious "spectacle" is "so what?" Egyptological laughs: Five Canopic jars - look that one up if you don't understand the reference. A Book of the Dead that is actually a book - they were on papyrus scrolls. Gilded (not gelded) priests ala "Goldfinger". Etc.

This early silent (1912) is a bit creeky (canvas flats that move in the breeze and a ship pushed on from the wings) but is an early attempt to use ancient history as the inspiration for a film drama. Helen Gardner and her troupe filmed a stage production, typical for the time, with little awareness of the possibilities of the medium. The plot actually comes from another source than Shakespeare and is not the usual Anthony and Cleopatra story. It may be based on a French 19th century opera which, in turn, can be traced back to a short story by Alexander Pushkin. This film is an excellent example of the state of the art in the time that it was made.

For 1939 and early color this is a film to be remembered. As Maltin says, Kenny Baker is not ideal, mainly because he has the only American accent in a cast of English G&S specialists and strikes a somewhat discordant note.

(I saw this film when I was in the second grade and I still have vivid memories of it, I might even say that it opened a whole new world of musical theatre to me).