Cleopatra

I found Claudette Colbert to be an excellent Cleopatra and while she is most famous for portraying sophisticated modern women in "Cleopatra" and her other epic production from that time, "The Sign of the Cross" she captures beautifully the feel of that far off time in history. Claudette was an extremely capable actress equally adept at performing in comedy, drama and spectacle. Here she has a role of a lifetime and it is one of the roles she is justly remembered most for.

Contrary to what a lot of reviewers always state I find Cecil B DeMille's work wonderful to watch. I guess being a history buff I just love the times most of his productions are set in.I think that a great deal of thought and care has gone into all his productions...no more obvious than in his 1934 version of "Cleopatra"
The film positvely glows with one exotic scene after another. Cleopatra's seduction of Marc Antony on her barge has to be seen to be believed!! Surely the queen's real barge was never so lavish!! Her entry into Rome as part of Ceasar's entourage while well done can't possibly compare to the incredibly lavish entry scene in Elizabeth Taylor's version unfortunately.
As a history exercise it stays close to what real history says happened but never once does the entertainment let up. The settings , costumnes, music used are pure DeMille and are thus a sight for the eye. I feel that Claudette also has tried to inject more of a human element into her characterisation displaying frustration and fear of things that might occur and tiredness at the burden she must carry as one Queen up against the whole Roman Empire. When she exclaims "It's always Egypt!" meaning it is her resposibilities always ahead of her own needs she displays a great human side to a impressive character.

I can't fault this production and it still holds up today as impressive entertainment. I never tire of the story of the Queen of the Nile and all the intrigues of her court. And the costumns and sets make the film well worth viewing for that alone.

Not a really great history lesson but terrific entertainment as it was intended. They dont make films like this one nowadays mores the pity!!!.


Good for one time viewing or for serious collecting   March 15, 2002
B. Chandler (Arlington, Texas)
7 out of 12 found this review helpful

For the collector this version of Cleopatra is unique and of course adds also to the Cecil collection. It is filmed in black and white. The actors barely into talkies over emotionalize every chance they get. Cleo had to cram the rubber snake to her bosom with a stabbing force. There are a few Shakespeare quotes. And the sets are from the 30's. That may be because it was made in 1934. However I expected King Kong to come out from behind the curtain at any time.

After getting over the shock of the accents and costumes and gesticulations, it was fun to watch Cleo vamping Anthony. You felt like saying, "Look out Anthony!" And the battle scenes must have taken the lions share of the budget. So try to make it past the beginning and you may wonder why it is over so soon.

I was compelled to write this review on the Ides of March.


Claudette Colbert: the only Cleopatra (Elizabeth who?)   September 12, 2000
Naomi R. West (TX, USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I am probably speaking against popular opinion, but for those who can look beyond the flamboyance of Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra, Claudette Colbert does far more justice to the image of Cleopatra. Not only does she have the perfect sultry and seductive charm, her deep, resonant voice depicts the powerful female far better than Taylor's ineffectively weak one.


QUEEN OF THE NILE   August 1, 2001
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Cecil B. DeMille approached Claudette Colbert for playing the title role in this fantasia/extravaganza on the life of Queen of the Nile. Obviously, the eccentric, egotistical DeMille took his pictures too seriously & they almost always have "camp quality" to them - which, incidentally, make them a lot of fun to watch! The pretentious dialogue is nigh hilarious at times (audiences laughed in 1934 as well!) Like most of DeMille"s biggest pictures, CLEOPATRA didn't exactly please the pious critics, but the public ate it up! The picture going public marveled at it's lavish 'kitsch' quality and savoured it's expensive excesses (i.e. when Cleo seduces Marc Antony, there are writhing and dancing females everywhere clad in seaweed; one is whipped into naked submission by a giant slave!) Colbert's versatility is astonishing in all actuality. In the year this was filmed (1934), she had played the role of Bea in the ultrasentimental IMITATION OF LIFE and won herself an AA for falling in love with Gable in IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT. These are three very different roles and Colbert did each of them magnificently. Colbert never takes her interpretation of Cleo TOO seriously and she cleverly delivers her lines with tongue-in-cheek flair. Travis Banton created the lavishly daring costumes and although this flick is not exactly a history teachers' ideal, at least it didn't bore everyone to tears like the 1963 Liz Taylor epic.


Silly Good Fun   December 16, 2001
Gary F. Taylor (Biloxi, MS USA)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Claudette Colbert isn't really an actress you'd expect to find playing the Queen of the Nile, but she and her co-stars make the 1930s film version a lot more entertaining than the mammoth Elizabeth Taylor version ever was: playing with tongue firmly in cheek from a very high-flown script indeed, they make CLEOPATRA a very entertaining show.

Although the film holds true to stereotypes rather than fact, it is consistent in its presentation of ancient Egypt, and everything looks and sounds like it belongs together. The 1930s costumes and sets (which refrence earlier Deco interpretations of Egyptian motif rather than the originals themselves) are lavish, and they lend a great deal of fun to the slightly whoopsie nature of the performances. If you're looking for a serious, historical Cleopatra, you won't find her in de Mille's over-the-top film--but it is a LOT of fun!