Trivia / Cleopatra (1934)

• Actor-Inspired Element: Claudette Colbert specifically wanted to do something different from the previous highbrow interpretations of Cleopatra, and portray her with more humour and humanity.
• Approval of God: Theda Bara, who played Cleopatra in the now lost 1917 film, publicly gave Claudette Colbert's casting her approval ahead of the film's release, and said "she will probably give an excellent performance."
• Cast the Runner-Up: Mary Loos had written to Cecil B DeMille when he was casting the film, stating that she wanted to become an actress. He initially cast her as one of Cleopatra's servants, but Claudette Colbert had casting approval and deemed her "too young and too dark" for the part. DeMille still gave her a smaller role, and made sure she appeared in as many shots as possible.
• Dark Horse Casting: Henry Wilcoxon was a complete unknown when he was cast as Marc Antony, and Cecil B DeMille only saw test footage of him by accident. Nonetheless, he was selected for the role and would become one of DeMille's regulars for the next few decades.
• Dyeing for Your Art: The extras playing the Roman soldiers were told to learn the ancient form of combat, and Cecil B DeMille even duelled with Henry Wilcoxon for two minutes to demonstrate what he wanted.
• Follow the Leader: The film came about because Paramount wanted Cecil B DeMille to recreate the success of his sexy historical epic The Sign of the Cross (which had also starred Claudette Colbert).
• Never Work with Children or Animals:
  • The snake scene was quite problematic because Claudette Colbert had an intense fear of them, and they had to put off shooting that scene for as long as possible. On the day it was to be shot, Cecil B DeMille walked on set with a large boa constrictor draped over his shoulders. The actress was terrified and pleaded to not have to do the scene with such a large snake. The director then produced a smaller asp and said "how about this one instead?" and Claudette was all too happy to film with a significantly smaller snake.
  • The scene of Cleopatra showing Marc Antony a girl doing a sexy dance on a bull was difficult too, because the bull pooped on the floor during the first and second takes.
• Trolling Creator: In 1934, the Hays Code was only just starting to be implemented, so Cecil B DeMille put the opening shot of an apparently nude but strategically lit girl in there just to flaunt the restrictions while he was still legally able to do so.