Question 1

Why was Cecil B. DeMille able to include a nude scene in Cleopatra despite the Hays Code?

Accepted Answer

The Hays Code was only just being implemented in 1934, so DeMille made sure to flaunt its restrictions while he was still legally able to do so. He opens the film with an apparently naked, but strategically lit, slave girl.

Question 2

How did Cecil B. DeMille trick Claudette Colbert into filming the climactic snake scene?

Accepted Answer

Colbert was terrified of snakes, so on filming day, DeMille approached her with a huge snake from Los Angeles Zoo. When she pleaded with him, he produced the diminutive asp instead, which she was happy to work with.

Question 3

What unusual pre-production research did Cecil B. DeMille do for Cleopatra?

Accepted Answer

DeMille asked to screen the original 1917 Cleopatra with Theda Bara. A copy was borrowed from New York, and the screening on February 15, 1934, may have been the last time anyone saw that legendary film before it was likely destroyed in a 1937 fire.

Question 4

Why did Paramount head Adolph Zukor insist Cecil B. DeMille make Cleopatra?

Accepted Answer

DeMille's previous film, Four Frightened People (1934), was a huge flop. Zukor wanted him to replicate the success of The Sign of the Cross (1932) by making another historical epic with lots of sex in it.

Question 5

Which major festivals and awards recognized Cleopatra in 1935?

Accepted Answer

The film was featured at the Moscow International Film Festival and was recognized at the Academy Awards in 1935.

Cleopatra

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