Caligula and Messalina (1981): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1981, Caligula and Messalina is a drama, romance and history film directed by Antonio Passalia, running about 111 minutes. “See the story that no history book dared to tell!” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. Messalina (played by gorgeous Betty Roland) is a power-hungry nymphomaniac who will stop at nothing to become Empress of Rome. She brings herself to the attention of Caligula by battling in the gladiator arena and it is not long before she achieves her goal, upsetting the Emperor's youngest sister Agrippina, who hopes that her son Nero will eventually become ruler of Rome. Agrippina successfully plots Caligula's downfall, but Messalina rains on her parade by immediately jumping into the sack with his successor, Claudius. But naughty old Messalina can't commit herself to one man, and shags everyone in sight, including a grotesque, but well-endowed, frequenter of brothels, a randy midget, her eunuch(!?!?) and an ex-lover. When she ends up pregnant, and it is obvious that the father is not Claudius (since he has been away fighting in foreign lands), Agrippina finally sees her opportunity to be rid of her nemesis once and for all.

Who’s in it. Caligula and Messalina stars Gino Turini as Caligula, Betty Roland as Messalina, Vladimir Brajovic as Claudius and Françoise Blanchard as Agrippina, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 4.0/10, Caligula and Messalina has proved divisive with audiences.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on Eternal Family and IndiePix Unlimited Amazon Channel. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Caligula and Messalina page.

If you liked it. Fans of Caligula and Messalina tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.