The fifties and early sixties were the golden age of the Biblical and Classical epic. This period produced what I have always regarded as the three classics of the genre, De Mille's "The Ten Commandments", Wyler's "Ben-Hur" and Kubrick's "Spartacus", as well as other fine examples such as "Quo Vadis?" Not all epics, however, were of this quality. There were also mediocre third-raters like "Samson and Delilah" or "Esther and the King", as well as Paul Newman's debut film, the dreadful fourth-rater "The Silver Chalice", which up to now I have always regarded as the worst epic ever made.
That was until I saw "Serpent of the Nile", although this film was made on such a small budget that it hardly qualifies as an epic at all, even though it deals with a subject taken from Classical antiquity. That subject is the story of Antony and Cleopatra, although anyone expecting something like Mankiewicz's vast "Cleopatra" from 1963 is likely to be disappointed. Most writers and film-makers who have dealt with this subject have treated it as one of the world's great love stories, including Shakespeare and John Dryden in his play "All for Love". The main character of this film, however, is neither of the two lovers but the fictitious Roman soldier Lucilius, who starts off as a partisan of Cassius and Brutus, then becomes a supporter of Antony, and finally switches his loyalties to Octavius.
Neither Antony nor Cleopatra, in fact, emerges as an attractive figure. Cleopatra is depicted here as an evil, scheming seductress who uses her beauty to ensnare men and to further her selfish ambition to become Empress of Rome. Antony, as played by Raymond Burr, is so infatuated with Cleopatra that he does not realise how evil and power-hungry she is. (It doesn't help that he is drunk most of the time). The plot is essentially a love-triangle; Antony is in love with Cleopatra, but she secretly despises him; her suicide by snakebite is motivated by rage at the frustration of her ambitions, not grief at the death of Antony. She is really in love with the handsome Lucilius, but he realises her true nature and wants nothing to do with her.
The standards of acting are generally poor. The worst is the stolid, stony-faced William Lundigan as Lucilius; this was the first film I had ever seen him in, and if his performance here is a true reflection of the level of his talents it will hopefully the last. To call him wooden would be an insult to trees. As Lucilius is supposed to be the hero, Lundigan's weakness affects the whole film. Rhonda Fleming, known as the "Queen of Technicolor", was not perhaps the ideal actress to play Cleopatra, as she was forced to hide her trademark flowing red locks beneath a black wig. She appeared in some very good films such as "Spellbound", "The Spiral Staircase" and "Gunfight at the OK Corral", but here she makes little impression. Burr is technically rather better, but his besotted drunkard is a one-dimensional and not very interesting interpretation of the role of Antony. I preferred Richard Burton in the 1963 film, but even better was Charlton Heston in his 1972 version of Shakespeare's play, portraying Antony not just as a lover but also as a statesman and man of action.
The film's weaknesses are not confined to the acting. As I stated, the film had a very low budget, and re-used the sets used in another recent epic, the Rita Hayworth vehicle "Salome". That film, of course, was not set in Egypt, so when some authentically Egyptian colour was called for, a painted backdrop of a pyramid was used. A similar technique was used for much of the scenery, such as a scene showing ships on the sea, and the paintings are so poor that the results are invariably unconvincing. The plot is generally tedious and uninteresting. If "The Silver Chalice" is fourth-rate, "Serpent of the Nile" is fifth-rate. 3/10
Some goofs. When Julie Newmar performs a dance supposedly clad only in gold paint, she is obviously also wearing a 1950s style bikini. Cleopatra is portrayed as putting on a show of wealth and abundance in order to conceal the fact that Egypt is an impoverished country whose people are starving. In reality Egypt was the agricultural superpower of the ancient world, able not only to feed its own people but also to export surplus grain abroad, especially to Rome. The name of Cleopatra's sister Arsinoe, who plays a role in the film, should be pronounced as four syllables, not three. And Arsinoe was killed on the steps of the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, not as shown here outside a castle in the desert.
That was until I saw "Serpent of the Nile", although this film was made on such a small budget that it hardly qualifies as an epic at all, even though it deals with a subject taken from Classical antiquity. That subject is the story of Antony and Cleopatra, although anyone expecting something like Mankiewicz's vast "Cleopatra" from 1963 is likely to be disappointed. Most writers and film-makers who have dealt with this subject have treated it as one of the world's great love stories, including Shakespeare and John Dryden in his play "All for Love". The main character of this film, however, is neither of the two lovers but the fictitious Roman soldier Lucilius, who starts off as a partisan of Cassius and Brutus, then becomes a supporter of Antony, and finally switches his loyalties to Octavius.
Neither Antony nor Cleopatra, in fact, emerges as an attractive figure. Cleopatra is depicted here as an evil, scheming seductress who uses her beauty to ensnare men and to further her selfish ambition to become Empress of Rome. Antony, as played by Raymond Burr, is so infatuated with Cleopatra that he does not realise how evil and power-hungry she is. (It doesn't help that he is drunk most of the time). The plot is essentially a love-triangle; Antony is in love with Cleopatra, but she secretly despises him; her suicide by snakebite is motivated by rage at the frustration of her ambitions, not grief at the death of Antony. She is really in love with the handsome Lucilius, but he realises her true nature and wants nothing to do with her.
The standards of acting are generally poor. The worst is the stolid, stony-faced William Lundigan as Lucilius; this was the first film I had ever seen him in, and if his performance here is a true reflection of the level of his talents it will hopefully the last. To call him wooden would be an insult to trees. As Lucilius is supposed to be the hero, Lundigan's weakness affects the whole film. Rhonda Fleming, known as the "Queen of Technicolor", was not perhaps the ideal actress to play Cleopatra, as she was forced to hide her trademark flowing red locks beneath a black wig. She appeared in some very good films such as "Spellbound", "The Spiral Staircase" and "Gunfight at the OK Corral", but here she makes little impression. Burr is technically rather better, but his besotted drunkard is a one-dimensional and not very interesting interpretation of the role of Antony. I preferred Richard Burton in the 1963 film, but even better was Charlton Heston in his 1972 version of Shakespeare's play, portraying Antony not just as a lover but also as a statesman and man of action.
The film's weaknesses are not confined to the acting. As I stated, the film had a very low budget, and re-used the sets used in another recent epic, the Rita Hayworth vehicle "Salome". That film, of course, was not set in Egypt, so when some authentically Egyptian colour was called for, a painted backdrop of a pyramid was used. A similar technique was used for much of the scenery, such as a scene showing ships on the sea, and the paintings are so poor that the results are invariably unconvincing. The plot is generally tedious and uninteresting. If "The Silver Chalice" is fourth-rate, "Serpent of the Nile" is fifth-rate. 3/10
Some goofs. When Julie Newmar performs a dance supposedly clad only in gold paint, she is obviously also wearing a 1950s style bikini. Cleopatra is portrayed as putting on a show of wealth and abundance in order to conceal the fact that Egypt is an impoverished country whose people are starving. In reality Egypt was the agricultural superpower of the ancient world, able not only to feed its own people but also to export surplus grain abroad, especially to Rome. The name of Cleopatra's sister Arsinoe, who plays a role in the film, should be pronounced as four syllables, not three. And Arsinoe was killed on the steps of the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, not as shown here outside a castle in the desert.