When this film was released, William Howard Taft was president, the Titanic had just sunk and moving pictures were a relatively new concept. Helen Gardner made a good Cleopatra, although she probably couldn't have competed against Theda Bara or Elizabeth Taylor, both actresses having put indelible marks on the role of the Queen of the Nile after this film was made. Gardner was a teacher of pantomime, and thus used that ability in her film career. It is way overdone by today's standards, but it is not fair to judge a film made more than a century ago by today's standards of what is good cinema and what is not. Gardner put everything she had into the role, and made Cleo come to life on the screen. I believe that if Helen Gardner were alive today, she would sue Turner Classic Movies for the horrible and incomprehensible musical score accompanying this film...it is absolutely atrocious. If you come across this film on TCM, for your own enjoyment mute the sound because that is the real tragedy in this presentation.
Review of Cleopatra
