7 of the best...
ROMAN COMEDIES
1 ROMAN SCANDALS (1933)
EARLY black and white comedy which saw an American from West Rome, Oklahoma, dreaming about being back in Ancient Rome and getting caught up in a plot to kill the Emperor. The movie starred Eddie Cantor and featured the film debut of Lucille Ball as one of the chorus girls singing No More Love. The comedy also featured the famous song Keep Young And Beautiful.
2 CARRY ON CLEO (1964)
AMANDA BARRIE turned on the charm as Egyptian queen Cleopatra in this Carry On comedy classic which saw Kenneth Williams and Sid James as Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. The movie was filmed on the abandoned London sets of the 1963 epic Cleopatra and Sid James wore the same Roman costume originally worn by Richard Burton.
3 A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (1966)
AN all-star cast including Zero Mostel, Michael Crawford, Phil Silvers and silent movie legend Buster Keaton joined forces for this fast-paced comedy farce about a slave who wants to buy his freedom. Zero Mostel had starred in the original Broadway musical in the early 1960s. This movie version was directed by Dick Lester, who had helmed The Beatles’ movie A Hard Day’s Night.
4 UP POMPEII (1971)
MOVIE version of the BBC sitcom starring Frankie Howerd as Roman slave Lurcio. He became caught up in an assassination plot to kill the Emperor Nero and the movie ended with the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius. The film comedy also saw Carry On regular Bernard Bresslaw as Nero’s champion Gorgo.
5 MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN (1979)
MONTY PYTHON put their own spin on the ancient world with Graham Chapman playing Brian and Michael Palin, left, play Pontius Pilate. Brian’s story ran parallel to that of Jesus, who was born on the same day, with poor Brian finding himself repeatedly mistaken for the Messiah.
6 HISTORY OF THE WORLD: PART 1 (1981)
MEL Brooks wrote, directed and starred in this film comedy which covered every historical period from the Old Testament to the French revolution. Dom Deluis starred in the Ancient Rome segment, playing Emperor Nero. Brooks movie regular Madeline Kahn played the Empress Nympho. The film’s publicity posters promised “a little something to offend everyone”.
7 ASTERIX AND OBELIX TAKE ON CAESAR (1999)
BASED on the bestselling French cartoon series, Christian Clavier and Gérard Depardieu starred as the two heroes from Gaul in this live-action movie. They live in the only village not controlled by the Roman Empire, and when they refuse to pay taxes, not even the might of Caesar himself can thwart them. Several other Asterix and Obelix movies have followed.