IMDb RATING
6.8/10
4.6K
YOUR RATING
The man-hungry Queen of Egypt leads Julius Caesar and Marc Antony astray, amid scenes of DeMillean splendor.The man-hungry Queen of Egypt leads Julius Caesar and Marc Antony astray, amid scenes of DeMillean splendor.The man-hungry Queen of Egypt leads Julius Caesar and Marc Antony astray, amid scenes of DeMillean splendor.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 4 nominations total
Ian Maclaren
- Cassius
- (as Ian MacLaren)
Ferdinand Gottschalk
- Glabrio
- (scenes deleted)
Jayne Regan
- Lady Vesta
- (as Jane Regan)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Cecil B. DeMille was in pre-production on this film, he asked to screen the original Cleopatra (1917) with Theda Bara. No prints could be found in Los Angeles, so a copy was borrowed from the Fox office in New York. After DeMille viewed the film, it was sent back to Little Ferry, NJ. On 7/9/37 a fire at the storage facility destroyed almost all of Fox's known archived prints, most likely including "Cleopatra". The screening for DeMille's company, on 2/15/34, may have been the last time anyone saw the legendary film. However, on September 14, 2023, 42 seconds of extremely rare footage of the final act in which Cleopatra prepares to die as the Roman Legion marches upon her palace was procured from a 1920's toy film projector and presented on YouTube.
- GoofsThe main doors to Cleopatra's chambers have modern metal hinges.
- Alternate versionsThe movie was released in Germany with German direction by Kurt Bleines and German dialogue by Helmut Brandis and Helena von Fortenbach.
- ConnectionsEdited into Catalogue of Ships (2008)
Featured review
Epic and a visual treat
What an extraordinary year 1934 was for Claudette Colbert. "It Happened One Night", "Imitation of Life", and of course, Cecil B. DeMille's version of the epic story, "Cleopatra". It's lush and extravagant especially for the time period, with absolutely marvelous costumes by Travis Banton, and beautiful art deco sets by Hans Dreier. Warren William is solid as Julius Ceasar and Henry Wilcoxon is passable as Marc Antony, but, wow, Claudette Colbert sizzles as Cleopatra. She finds the right balance between regal grandeur and smooth seduction. This movie just squeaked in before the doors of the Hays Code closed, and thank goodness, because she's so beautiful while slinking around in those revealing outfits. There are some fantastic dance/circus performances as well, and the movie is such a visual treat. The dialogue sometimes gets a little silly, but DeMille knew a good story when he saw one, and he knew that sex and violence sold. His ambition in production, both in creating big scenes and in the small details, really pay off, and it's no doubt that this is one of those early films that shaped Hollywood "epic" movies for decades.
helpful•130
- gbill-74877
- Feb 1, 2017
Details
- Runtime1 hour 40 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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