The Spread of the Eagle is a nine-part serial adaptation of three sequential history plays of William Shakespeare, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, and Antony and Cleopatra, produced by the BBC in 1963. It was inspired by the success of An Age of Kings (1960), which it was unable to rival.^[1] The episodes also aired in West Germany in 1968-69 and in 1972.^[2]

The series was recorded directly to film, and so persevered by the BBC Film Library, meaning all episodes still exist.^[3]

The episodes

"The Hero"

• First transmitted: 3 May 1963
• Running time: 50 minutes
• Content: Coriolanus, Acts I and II.

Cast

"The Voices"

• First transmitted: 10 May 1963
• Running time: 50 minutes
• Content: Coriolanus, Acts II, III, and IV.

Cast

"The Outcast"

• First transmitted: 17 May 1963
• Running time: 50 minutes
• Content: Coriolanus, Acts IV and V.

Cast

"The Colossus"

• First transmitted: 24 May 1963
• Running time: 50 minutes
• Content: Julius Caesar, Acts I and II.

Cast

"The Fifteenth"

• First transmitted: 31 May 1963
• Running time: 50 minutes
• Content: Julius Caesar, Acts II, III, and IV.

Cast

"The Revenge"

• First transmitted: 7 June 1963
• Running time: 50 minutes
• Content: Julius Caesar, Acts IV and V.

Cast

"The Serpent"

• First transmitted: 14 June 1963
• Running time: 50 minutes
• Content: Antony and Cleopatra, Acts I and II.

Cast

"The Alliance"

• First transmitted: 21 June 1963
• Running time: 50 minutes
• Content: Antony and Cleopatra, Acts II, III, and IV.

Cast

"The Monument"

• First transmitted: 28 June 1963
• Running time: 50 minutes
• Content: Antony and Cleopatra, Acts IV and V.

Cast

In popular culture

In July 1963, comedian Jimmy Edwards spoofed the series in an episode of More Faces of Jim entitled "Spreadeagling".^[4]