Nefertiti, reine du Nil

Fernando Cerchio is not a director as famous as top Hollywood names of his time. Very few people know his films, partly because he has not become worldly famous. But it is important to state that he also made quite a considerable number of ancient epics, including this one, NEFERTITI, QUEEN OF THE NILE. What is striking at this point is that the movie is similar, almost identical in style, convention, colors to other Italian productions of that time, including GIUSEPPE VENDUTO DAI FRATELLI ("Joseph Sold by his Brothers") (1959), HANNIBAL (1959) and IL SEPOLCRO DEI RE ("Cleopatra's Daughter") (1961). However, it is also similar to one American hit of its time...

If you consider the content of the movie, you may be misled by its striking similarity to a Hollywood production made almost 10 years earlier by Michael Curtiz, "The Egyptian" (1954). Although this view turns out to be a bit exaggerated, it is partly true. There are two major aspects both of the movies have in common: the historical period the actions are set in (the time of a monotheistic religion in Egypt during the reign of Amenophis) and the main star, actor Edmund Purdom who played Sinuhe in Curtiz's movie. This time, however, he is not a physician who searches for the answer on psychological questions, but a lover... moreover... a lover of the queen. As a result, the film cannot be treated as the remake of Curtiz's film whatsoever since, except for the two aforementioned aspects, it is an ENTIRELY different film.

The first major difference is the story itself. Tutmosis (Edmund Purdom), a sculptor, is in love with Tenet (later queen Nefertiti). At the same time, he is a dear friend of Amenophis (Amedeo Nazzari) and works as a sculptor. All changes at one night when the worshiper of a new God, one God Aaton, a prophet and priest Seper (Carlo D'Angelo) foresees the death of the Pharaoh and the coming reign of Amenophis. The prophecy comes true. The father of Tenet, Amon Ra priest Benakon (Vincent Price) plans a marriage of his daughter with the new Pharaoh. She is no longer Tenet, but Nefertiti, the Queen of the Nile. However, Tutmosis, an obstacle in the whole plan, is arrested and said to be dead but he soon escapes from prison and finds himself as a sculptor on the court. He is to sculpt the famous bust of Nefertiti which survives for centuries to prove the queen's magnificent beauty and great feeling to the man who really loved her. The end of the film concentrates on religious war in Egypt and shows the slaughter of Aaton worshipers (here, similarly like in the aforementioned movie, "The Egyptian"). The end, however, is quite optimistic. Nevertheless, the film lacks the grandeur, lavish sets, psychological ambiguity that the American productions of the time can boast.

The cast of the film are not that famous actors and actresses like in most American movies of the 1950s and 1960s, but they perform quite well. Jeanne Crain is particularly great as Nefertiti, she is very beautiful and her face really fits to the role. Edmund Purdom does a good job as her lover, Tutmosis. Except for Amedeo Nazzari and Carlo D'Angelo who do not particularly shine in their roles, there is one more star worth attention - Vincent Price as Nefertiti's father, Benakon. There is something ancient in his face, something that we find in the mummies...

Although the film is not a hit and does not have an outstanding cinematography, there are some memorable scenes that have remained in my memory for long. The first of such scenes is when Nefertiti listens in secret to the meeting of Amon Ra priests plotting against Amenophis and the new religion. She looks at them through the eye of the great statue of Sphynx and a mysterious Egyptian melody is being played as the background. Another scene is the dance of a harlot in the headquarters of the Egyptian army. I don't know if there are many films of that time which so sexually show the dance of a woman. And indeed very well played! Yet, the final shot is great, the camera moves from Nefertiti and Tutmosis kissing to the close-up of her sculpted bust. Intentionally, this is a symbolic reference to modern times when the bust can be still admired at the Egyptian museum in Berlin.

Of course, NEFERTITI, THE QUEEN OF THE NILE (1961) is no masterpiece. If you expect much from this film after seeing the one about Sinuhe, you may be disappointed. Nevertheless, if you regard any historical epic worth a look, this film is really for you.

Nefertiti Queen of the Nile is not without its redeeming qualities. The sets are richly coloured and reasonably lavish, there are a few gems in the script, my favourite being "the Nile itself cannot wash away my sins", and there are three good performances; Jeanne Crain, who is the epitome of radiance; Edmund Perdum while not a great performance still has a likability to it; and Vincent Price who is diabolical personified. On the other hand, the costumes did have a weird and somewhat cheap feel, I never did get the sense that I was being transported to ancient Egypt, and the music has some nice moments but forgettable within minutes after the film ending. Apart from a couple of gems, the dialogue is embarrassingly banal, the story lacks any kind of lustre and bite and was sort of ridiculous too and of the characters only the three main ones were defined well, everyone else was stock and just there for the sake of it. In conclusion, neither good or bad, fairly entertaining if you are in a good mood but at the end of the day little more than that, for me that is. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Queen of the Nile is the story of the the making of Queen Nefertiti of ancient Egypt. Its a loose story without details or specifics, but the sets and costumes and overall performances come together to make this slight picture actually kind of entertaining. The script is week and like I said it doesn't really feel in the least bit historical, but visually I find these type of films interesting and uniquely fun. Jeanne Crain and Edmund Purdom both give strong performances, and while Vincent Price is an underutilized secondary character, he is also good and together these three elevate this production to one worth checking out if you're curious.

one of many historical theme "B" films from "60. not memorable but correct. a dramatic love story, the beauty of Jeanne Crain, the duty, more important than the love, Vincent Price in a role using his skills for bad guys. and decent atmosphere, funny fight scenes, Edmund Purdom in a role who remains sketch for a Charming Prince. Nefertiti has the virtue to be perfect answer to the nostalgia of films "B" fans. large slices of romanticism, lost historical accuracy, seductive - and unrealistic - end. enough for a nice show.

This is an unpretentious Italian Historical Epic film based on the figure of the Egyptian queen Nefertiti. The story is acceptable -don't look for historical accuracy- and deals with the romance of the queen to be with a poor sculptor and the dilemma she has to face when forced to choose between her love or duty. Locations, settings, colour and gowns are acceptable too.

Italians were fully dedicated to this kind of "B" epic productions in the early 60's and they often hired well known American or British performers -usually after their best years- in order to raise the level of these films and make them more suitable for international markets (Orson Welles, Broderick Crawford, Victor Mature and Basil Rathbone were among them).

Jeanne Crain was always a just correct actress, but she looks beautiful here as Nefertiti and you prefer to feast your eyes on her than to analyze her performance. Vincent Price -just before his deservedly successful association with Roger Corman in Poe's based horror stories- plays without effort a villainous high priest. The love interest of the queen is Edmund Purdom in his usual dull and wooden acting; I can't recall another actor that was given so many chances to reach stardom with -if not great- rather expensive products and failed ("The Egyptian", "The Prodigal", "The King's Thief" or later "The Yellow Rolls Royce"). He ended up in "B" European films and no more than that.

All in all, this is a movie to see if you like historical Epics but it surely won't make history in the genre.