Robbing Cleopatra's Tomb
1899 French film / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robbing Cleopatra's Tomb (French: Cléopâtre, literally Cleopatra) is an 1899 silent trick film directed by Georges Méliès. One of the earliest horror films ever made, it is about resurrecting the mummy of Cleopatra. In it, a man chops the mummy of Cleopatra into pieces, and then "produces a woman from a smoking brazier."[1]
Cléopâtre | |
---|---|
Directed by | Georges Méliès |
Written by | Georges Méliès |
Produced by | Georges Méliès |
Starring | Georges Méliès Jeanne d'Alcy |
Cinematography | Georges Méliès |
Release date |
|
Running time | 2 minutes |
Country | France |
Language | Silent film |
While today director Méliès is more known for his iconic film A Trip to the Moon, it was this film which caught the attention of producer Charles Urban, who released the film in the United States (under the title Robbing Cleopatra's Tomb; its British release was simply titled Cleopatra's Tomb) and subsequently distributed many of Méliès other films.[1] It's numbered 175–176 in the catalogue.
This is a lost film. A print was reported to have been discovered in France on 22 September 2005,[2] but it turned out to be a different film involving tomb robbery.[3][unreliable source?]