Cleopatra (1934)

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

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Bartlett Cormack (from an adaptation by: historical material), Waldemar Young (screen play),

Stars:

Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Henry Wilcoxon

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Claudette Colbert	...	Cleopatra
Warren William	...	Julius Caesar
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Marc Antony
Joseph Schildkraut	...	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)

Storyline

In 48 BC, Cleopatra, facing palace revolt in her kingdom of Egypt, welcomes the arrival of Julius Caesar as a way of solidifying her power under Rome. When Caesar, whom she has led astray, is killed, she transfers her affections to Marc Antony and dazzles him on a barge full of DeMillean splendor. But the trick may not work a third time...

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Plot Keywords:

marc antony | egypt | julius caesar | queen | cleopatra | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 October 1934 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kleopatra

Filming Locations:

El Segundo, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

1934 was a banner year for Claudette Colbert with three of her films being nominated for Best Film Academy Awards - Cleopatra, Imitation of Life and It Happened One Night. She of course won the Oscar for Best Actress for the last of those.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

Cleopatra: So Rome would forgive and take you back? And all they demand is for us to part. Why don't they ask the sun to fall right out of the sky?

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Connections

Version of Cleopatra (1912)

User Reviews

Cleopatra one of DeMille's more literate pictures

I have been very fond of this movie for years, particularly as compared with Fox's bloated monstrosity of 1963. Colbert is admittedly somewhat miscast (her face is altogether Parisienne), but she handles the part with considerable charm. Warren William, usually a very limited actor, is as good a Caesar as I have seen on film, commanding and uncomfortable by turns; while Henry Wilcoxon is the definitive Mark Antony, laughing, brawling, swaggering, crude and brooding. C. Aubrey Smith as Enobarbus, the last of the hardcore Roman republicans, is perfect. Victor Milner's cinematography is superb, if old-fashioned. There is one magnificent pullback shot aboard Cleopatra's barge, with more and more stuff entering the frame, which as pure cinema is worth more than all four hours of the Liz Taylor version for my money. Shakespeare and Shaw have both been drawn upon here and there, and the movie has generally good (and fun) dialogue, not always one of DeMille's strengths. Consider also the scene of Cleopatra's entrance into Rome: contrary to DeMille's usual reputation, this scene is underplayed, depicting a plausible parade through a very real Roman street with authentic trappings, compared to the outrageously bogus and overblown spectacle given us in 1963. A word is also in order for the music of Rudolph Kopp, an extremely obscure Hollywood composer, who turns in an atmospheric score redolant of the old silent movies. This style is easy to make fun of, but see how effective it is in the highly theatrical opening credits! DeMille used silent film technique well into the talkie era, particularly in crowd scenes, and it still works. The battle scenes are the weakest point, since evidently Paramount ran out of cash and C.B. had to make do with a bunch of short shots put together with Russian cutting; nevertheless, this is still as good a picture on the subject as has yet been made, a bit of extravagant old Hollywood at its most polished.