The 1963 film 𝑪𝒍𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒂 is the stuff of Hollywood legend. Production began in England at Pinewood Studios, where Oliver Messel designed the costumes for the epic. This behind-the-scenes image shows one of Messel’s creations for Elizabeth Taylor in the title role, likely taken in late 1960. According to @etarchives, Elizabeth was to wear this costume in a scene dining with Caesar, originally played by Peter Finch. The gown never made it into the final film—though the headdress did, but that’s a post for another day. After numerous complications, production at Pinewood was shut down, and the film was moved to Cinecittà Studios in Rome, where Irene Sharaff designed new costumes for Fox’s second attempt. One of Messel’s original costumes later surfaced on Hayley Mills. How, why, or where remains unclear. It was likely a promotional photo, perhaps taken between 1960 and 1961, as the presence of the screen-used headdress suggests it predated the move to Rome. Could Mills have worn this gown at Pinewood while filming 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝑫𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒅 or 𝑰𝒏 𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔, both shot before 𝑪𝒍𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒂’𝒔 relocation in September 1961? Or were the Messel costumes sent back to 20th Century Fox in the U.S., where Mills wore them? Costumes from 𝑪𝒍𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒂 are known to be scattered across Fox Studios in the U.S., Pinewood in England, and Cinecittà in Rome, so either is possible. However, since Mills was mainly associated with Disney rather than Fox, so her taking this photo at Pinewood makes sense.
