Rare Photos from the Movie Sets of Old Hollywood Classics

Between takes, Cleopatra’s court takes a load off. These female extras lounge in full Egyptian regalia, winged costumes still intact, eyeliner sharp enough to cut glass. It’s a rare off-duty glimpse at a production famous for excess—where even background players were dressed like royalty under the Roman sun.

Cleopatra (1963) was Hollywood spectacle at its most extravagant, with thousands of costumes and a budget that nearly sank a studio. For the extras, it meant long days, heavy headdresses, and moments like this—feet up, wings down, waiting to return to cinematic immortality.