Cleopatra (1963 film) Fourth Star of Cleopatra". Cleopatra (1963 film) Cleopatra is a 1963 American epic historical drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, with a screenplay adapted by Mankiewicz, Ranald MacDougall and Sidney Buchman from the book "The Life and Times of Cleopatra" by Carlo Maria Franzero, and from histories by Plutarch, Suetonius, and Appian. It stars Elizabeth Taylor in the eponymous role. Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy McDowall, and Martin Landau are featured in supporting roles. It chronicles the struggles of Cleopatra, the young Queen of Egypt, to resist the imperial ambitions of Rome. The film achieved notoriety during its production
Reign of Cleopatra affairs that should have been handled directly by the Roman Senate. Bibulus, siding with Pompey the Great in Caesar's Civil War, was then charged with preventing Caesar from landing a naval fleet in Greece. He failed at the task which ultimately allowed Julius Caesar to reach Egypt in pursuit of Pompey. Although Cleopatra had rejected her 11-year-old brother as a joint ruler in 51 BC, Ptolemy XIII still retained strong allies, notably Potheinos, his tutor and administrator of his properties. The Romans, including Caesar, initially viewed him as the power behind the throne. Others involved in the cabal against Cleopatra