Cleopatra (1963 film) other commitments and were replaced by Rex Harrison and Richard Burton, as Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony respectively. During filming, Taylor met Burton and the two began an adulterous affair; the scandal made headlines worldwide, since both were married to others, and brought bad publicity to the already troubled production. Mankiewicz was later fired during the editing phase, only to be rehired to reshoot the opening battle scenes in Spain. The cut of the film which Mankiewicz screened for the studio was six hours long. This was cut to four hours for its initial premiere, but the studio demanded (over
The Memoirs of Cleopatra with him. With his help, at the age of seventeen, she becomes queen of Egypt, but feels betrayed when her brother is ordered back as her co-regent. Cleopatra and Caesar tour the country, and she becomes pregnant. They marry and he returns home, while she gives birth of a son named Ptolemy Caesar. Caesar acknowledges the boy, but is assassinated soon after. Cleopatra meets Marcus Antonius, and the two begin an affair that will last years. Together, they fight to withstand the aggression of Caesar's successor, Octavian. Author Margaret George read about Cleopatra as a young girl, and had always