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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Vanessa Thorpe Arts and media correspondent

Cleopatra at 60: new book reveals ‘stunning profligacy’ of infamous Hollywood epic

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor began a scandalous affair on the set of 1963’s Cleopatra.
Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor began a scandalous affair on the set of Cleopatra in 1962. Photograph: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images

Sixty years ago, the Hollywood studio system crumbled under the weight of a failed blockbuster – and the Observer’s coverage did not help.

On this weekend in 1963, the newspaper ran the second of three special features on the most expensive flop ever made – Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Called “The Ordeal in Rome”, the article even had its own logo, featuring mirror images of Cleopatra’s profile.

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