Nefertite, Regina del Nilo [Queen of the Nile] *** (1961, Jeanne Crain, Vincent Price, Edmund Purdom, Amedeo Nazzari, Liana Orfei, Carlo D’Angelo, Clelia Matania) – Classic Movie Review 8069

Co-writer/ director Fernando Cerchio’s 1961 Italian sword-and-sandal historical drama epic Nefertite, Regina del Nilo [Queen of the Nile] stars Jeanne Crain, Vincent Price and Edmund Purdom, who in 1954 had starred in The Egyptian, which has a similar plot and characters, though the two films run in very different ways. It is produced for MAX Film by Ottavio Poggi. It does seem to be Price’s most obscure movie.

Purdom plays the sculptor Tumos, who is in love with Tenet (Crain), the woman who became known as Queen Nefertiti, and this is the story of her rise and fall. She is the ‘Fascinating Woman Who Deserted the Pharaoh For the Arms of the Artist Who Made Her Immortal!’

Tumos is also a friend of prince Amenophis (Amedeo Nazzari), the heir to the throne. Price plays Nefertiti’s father, the high priest Benakon, who reacts badly when he learns that Tumos and Tenet intend to elope, jailing Tumos and condemning Tenet. But Tumos flees to the desert to join Amenophis.

Also in the cast are Liana Orfei as Merith, Carlo D’Angelo as Seper, Raf Baldassarre as Mareb, Alberto Farnese as Dakim and Clelia Matania as Penaba the wet nurse.

The three visiting stars prove well cast and good value, and the movie, shot near Rome in Eastmancolor, retains a weird kind of fascination for fans of vintage historical epics. It is kitsch and heady stuff.

Cerchio writes the screenplay with John Byrne, Emerico Papp and Ottavio Poggi.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8069

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