The Plot Thickens
The Plot Thickens

Season 6 Trailer: Cleopatra

4 min
•Jul 2, 202512 months ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

This season 6 trailer for The Plot Thickens explores the legendary 1963 production of Cleopatra, the most expensive and disaster-prone film ever made. Host Ben Mankiewicz opens his uncle Joseph L. Mankiewicz's private diaries to reveal the chaos behind the scenes, including Elizabeth Taylor's record-breaking $1 million salary, the scandalous affair between Taylor and Richard Burton, and the personal toll the production took on the acclaimed director.

Insights
  • Massive budget overruns and production chaos can permanently damage even the most accomplished creative professionals' careers and legacies
  • Celebrity scandals and personal drama on set can overshadow artistic achievement and become the defining narrative of a major production
  • First-mover status in breaking industry pay records (Taylor's $1M salary) generates unprecedented media attention and cultural impact
  • Production disasters compound exponentially when multiple systemic failures occur simultaneously (weather, safety, personnel, logistics)
  • Personal testimony and archival materials provide crucial context for understanding historical industry events beyond public narratives
Trends
Historical reassessment of major Hollywood productions through primary source documentation and family perspectivesGrowing interest in behind-the-scenes production stories as distinct entertainment category from the films themselvesCelebrity compensation milestones as cultural watershed moments with lasting industry implicationsMental health and burnout impacts on creative leadership during high-stakes productionsScandal and personal relationships as dominant narrative drivers in film industry coverage
Topics
Film production budgeting and cost overrunsCelebrity compensation and salary recordsOn-set safety and production disastersHollywood scandal and media coverageDirector burnout and career impactElizabeth Taylor career and personal lifeRichard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor affairJoseph L. Mankiewicz directorial legacy1960s Hollywood production practicesVatican response to film contentUntrained animal handling on film setsMedical emergencies during productionWeather delays in filmmakingArchival diary documentationFamily narratives and Hollywood history
Companies
Turner Classic Movies
Produces and distributes The Plot Thickens podcast series featuring this Cleopatra season.
People
Ben Mankiewicz
Nephew of Joseph L. Mankiewicz; opens uncle's private diaries to explore Cleopatra production.
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Four-time Academy Award winner who directed Cleopatra; subject of the season's investigation.
Elizabeth Taylor
First actor paid $1 million for a single film; starred in Cleopatra and had affair with Richard Burton.
Richard Burton
Co-starred with Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra; engaged in scandalous affair during production.
Quotes
"No actress had ever been paid a million dollars for one movie before."
Ben Mankiewicz•Early in trailer
"Everything that could go wrong on a movie set did go wrong on Cleopatra."
Ben Mankiewicz•Mid-trailer
"Joe barely survived Cleopatra. By the end, he couldn't even walk."
Ben Mankiewicz•Mid-trailer
"I don't want to recall any of Cleopatra. That has just sent me into a tremendous depression."
Joseph L. Mankiewicz•Late trailer
"Cleopatra was the Voldemort of my childhood."
Ben Mankiewicz•Late trailer
Full Transcript
There was a line I heard a lot growing up. Family members used to say it. The line was that my grandfather wrote the best movie ever made. Rocks, but... Citizen Kane and my great-uncle directed the worst movie ever made. I am Kea Patra, Queen, daughter of IC. Pleopatra was the most elaborate, most disaster-prone production of the 1960s. The budget started out big and just kept growing. A $40 million movie, Kea Patra, the most expensive ever made. The sets were the size of a city. The movie took years to shoot, and when they cast Elizabeth Taylor... Liz Taylor playing perhaps the greatest role of her career. The press lost their minds. Elizabeth Taylor as Kea Patra. The world's most highly-paid film star. The Hollywood signing of the exotic Elizabeth. On your knees. No actress had ever been paid a million dollars for one movie before. Ha ha ha! And I'm just getting started. Everything that could go wrong on a movie set did go wrong on Kea Patra. There were medical emergencies. They did a tracheotomy in the ambulance. I just couldn't walk. I was in a wheelchair and an agony. Weather delays. Rain buttons slash on a good day. Unexploded landmines. Untrained elephants. They broke out of the tent and knocked down fences. It was horrible. Self pity again, you'll repeat yourself. Nervous breakdowns. Agony is the only word I can use. The agonies of hell. And just when things finally started to go right, two married actors started a secret affair. Richard and I fell in love. Oh boy. Elizabeth Taylor fell in love with her co-star Richard Burton, igniting one of the biggest scandals to ever engulf a film set. The conduct of Elizabeth Taylor. Vatican denounced it and we're in Rome. They were afraid of this one. I mean, people clutched their chests and called for oxygen. At the center of the storm was my uncle, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, winner of four Academy Awards. Two for writing, two for directing. My uncle Joe knew how to make a movie. The winner is Joseph L. Mankiewicz. But he had never made a movie like this. Joe barely survived Cleopatra. By the end, he couldn't even walk. I was down in the holes of this ship, traveling cold like a son of a bitch. His career and his reputation never fully recovered. And until he died, he hated talking about Cleopatra. I don't want to recall any of Cleopatra. That has just sent me into a tremendous depression. What the hell for? This season on the Plot Thiggins, I'm opening my uncle's private diaries for an inside look at the craziest production in Hollywood history. The fabulous film about a fabulous woman. I'm confronting my own family legends about the movie. Cleopatra was the Voldemort of my childhood. And I want to understand what exactly happened to my uncle Joe on that set. He turned around and said, this has nothing to do with me. You son of a bitch. This is me. This is all about me. Every fucking thing that's happened has happened to me. I'm Ben Mankiewicz. Join me for Cleopatra, a six-episode series from Turner Classic Movies. Starting July 17th, wherever you get podcasts.