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The Epic That Never Was

Play trailer The Epic That Never Was Released Sep 20, 1969 1h 15m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 2 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
In 1937, director Josef von Sternberg began filming an epic version of the best-seller "I, Claudius." Featuring Charles Laughton in the title role and Merle Oberon as his love interest, Messalina, the film seemed destined for greatness, but friction on the set, artistic disagreements and a serious accident befalling Oberon doomed the project. This 1965 documentary features all the extant footage from von Sternberg's film and new interviews with the surviving principals.

Critics Reviews

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Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Aug 10, 2005 Full Review Ken Hanke Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) Good documentary on failed Sternberg film I, Claudius. Rated: 4/5 Aug 24, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member the story of a lost performance, the short scenes of laughton are mesmerising, fortunately the bbc series lives up to the potential giving far more depth to the side characters, as much as I love Derek Jakobi, if only laughton had been pasted in... Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Epic That Never Was

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Cast & Crew

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Charles Laughton

Tiberius Claudius (archive footage)

Robert Graves

Self

Josef von Sternberg

Himself (director) (archive footage)

Merle Oberon

Self

Flora Robson

Self

Emlyn Williams

Himself (Caligula) (archive footage)
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The Epic That Never Was

The Epic That Never Was (1965) The Epic That Never Was (1965) The Epic That Never Was (1965) The Epic That Never Was (1965) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis In 1937, director Josef von Sternberg began filming an epic version of the best-seller "I, Claudius." Featuring Charles Laughton in the title role and Merle Oberon as his love interest, Messalina, the film seemed destined for greatness, but friction on the set, artistic disagreements and a serious accident befalling Oberon doomed the project. This 1965 documentary features all the extant footage from von Sternberg's film and new interviews with the surviving principals.
Producer
Bill Duncalf
Screenwriter
Bill Duncalf, Robert Graves
Distributor
British Broadcasting Corporation
Production Co
BBC
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 20, 1969, Wide
Runtime
1h 15m