Cleopatra (1934)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Bartlett Cormack (adaptation)
Waldemar Young (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 October 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Romance | War

Tagline:

History's most seductive woman! The screen's mightiest spectacle!

Plot:

The man-hungry Queen of Egypt leads Julius Caesar and Marc Antony astray, amid scenes of DeMillean splendor.

Plot Keywords:

Julius Caesar | Marc Antony | Egypt | Queen | Cleopatra

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 nominations

Cast

Claudette Colbert	...	Cleopatra
Warren William	...	Julius Caesar
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Marc Antony
Joseph Schildkraut	...	King Herod
Ian Keith	...	Octavian
Gertrude Michael	...	Calpurnia
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Enobarbus
Irving Pichel	...	Apollodorus
Arthur Hohl	...	Brutus
Edwin Maxwell	...	Casca
Ian Maclaren	...	Cassius (as Ian MacLaren)
Eleanor Phelps	...	Charmion
Leonard Mudie	...	Pothinos
Grace Durkin	...	Iras
Ferdinand Gottschalk	...	Glabrio (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #80)

Filming Locations:

El Segundo, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by MCA ever since.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: During the romantic barge scene, where Antony first makes love to Cleopatra, as the camera pulls further back, we see slaves in the galley pulling at the oars. When the barge is shown from the outside, no oars are visible, and the barge seems to be traveling under its own power.

Quotes:

Cleopatra: It's not the Senate I'm worried about but their fat wives. Do you know anything about senators, Charmion?
Charmion: Well, we only got here yesterday, Majesty.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic (2004) (TV)

A DeMille Desert Spectacular

For one moment in History, she is the world's most powerful woman. Devious, dangerous & entrancingly beautiful, she controls a kingdom while swaying an empire. She is Queen of the Nile. She is Egypt. She is CLEOPATRA.

Claudette Colbert is perfectly cast in the title role - deadly & fascinating, it's almost like watching a desert viper act. Exhibiting mega star wattage in arguably her best role, Colbert is one of the legendary actresses who could hold her own without being swallowed by the lavish costumes & sets which fill her every scene.

This is not to say she runs away with the entire film, however. Her male co-stars more than hold their own. A much underrated actor, Henry Wilcoxon as Marc Antony is excellent & shows what he would have been capable of in other roles if given the chance. In what amounts to little more than a cameo, Joseph Schildkraut gives a malicious turn to Herod the Great. Warren William & Ian Keith as the two Caesars strive mightily with their characters and generally succeed. Irving Pichel is very effective in his understated role as Cleopatra's advisor. Wonderful old Sir C. Aubrey Smith gives his usual first-rate performance, this time as an elderly Roman general. Film mavens who listen carefully will hear the voice of John Carradine a time or two as a Roman extra.

Cecil B. DeMille generally liked to portray as much sin as possible, usually wrapped around a sermon. Here, in the sensuous barge scene, he simply opens the floodgates & lets his bad taste flow out - to the viewer's fascination. Aided by Rudolph Kopp's throbbing music, this entire episode has PRE-PRODUCTION CODE emblazoned all over it.