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.

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.

Mickael Curtiz did in 1954 an overlooked underrated adaptation of Mika Waltari's mammoth novel "the Egyptian".It already dealt with a monotheism close to Christianity which we find again here.The star was also Edmund Purdom but with a more celebrated supporting cast (Victor Mature,Jean Simmons,Gene Tierney).The slaughter of the new faith followers was much more impressive in "the Egyptian"and its screenplay more complex with a lot of subplots .Here it treads a rather tenuous line:Nefertiti -before she was called so- was in love with a sculptor (the one who made the famous bust ?)but alas her ambitious father,a priest, is busy making other plans for her.So she will go down in history ,but what price glory?

It's fairly entertaining,but I would rather recommend Curtiz's work which was ,before "ten commandments" and " land of the pharaohs" the renaissance of the Egyptian sword and sandal.

This one, I guess, constitutes what passes for a star-studded peplum, what with 3 Hollywood names (Jeanne Crain, Vincent Price and Edmund Purdom – though, by this point, the latter was already well into his European phase) and a local one (Amedeo Nazzari, whom I recently-viewed in L'ATLANTIDE from the same year); incidentally, I opted to start my tribute to Price's centennial with his two epic Italian efforts (the other being RAGE OF THE BUCCANEERS, also from 1961) so as to segue from April's month-long marathon of such fare.

To be honest, I was not expecting much from it, being more or less a low-brow mix of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956), in which the titular royal had also featured (as did Price himself in a smallish role!), and Purdom's own earlier vehicle THE Egyptian (1954); however, the result is not only eminently watchable but surprisingly decent (so that Price's reputation is none the worse for its being on his resume'!). Crain, of course, is the protagonist – with Price as the High Priest (and, it is later revealed, Nefertite's father!), Purdom a sculptor in love with her when she had not yet ascended the throne and even boasted a different name (later, he is forced to make a statue of the new Queen and chastises her for what he believes to be her opportunism!), while Nazzari is the heir to the realm who intends helping his pal Purdom when Price tries to keep the latter and Crain apart but then, unbeknownst of her true identity, is persuaded by the High Priest to take Nefertite for a wife!

Also involved in the proceedings are lovely Liana Orfei (who would have a similar, albeit even more central, role in RAGE OF THE BUCCANEERS itself) as Purdom's devoted assistant/lover (at one point, her sultry dancing in the desert distracts the guards at the hero's prison-tent so as to enable him to escape) and Umberto Raho (complementing Price's position in the temple as well as the film's villainous stakes). Incidentally, Nazzari's character is interestingly developed: he not only befriends a holy man and supports his reverence for one god over Egypt's several (which does not sit well with the tradition-bound Price) but he eventually goes mad and, finding himself besieged by his own soldiers (under the High Priest's command), commits suicide just instances before Purdom (sent by Crain to mobilize the loyal desert troops to their defence) arrives on the scene! In the end, the film's rich look manages to transcend budgetary limitations…even if the audio levels fluctuated intermittently throughout the copy I acquired, at one time even lapsing (very briefly) into Spanish!