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Cleopatra  /  The Sign of the Cross

January 9, 2015 - 7:30 pm
Billy Wilder Theater
In-person: 
Mark A. Vieira, co-author, "Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic."

Mr. Vieira will be signing copies of the book Cecil B. DeMille beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive from Cecil B. DeMille's personal 35mm nitrate print, with funding provided by The Cecil B. DeMille Foundation, and the cooperation of Universal Pictures.

Cleopatra  (1934)


Queen Cleopatra (Claudette Colbert), her position in Egypt compromised by the ambitions of her brother Ptolemy, makes lovers of both Julius Caesar and (following his death) Marc Antony, by way of consolidating her power.  But love has its way with her, and Cleopatra is undone by the very weapon she previously wielded.  A fever dream combining Egyptian references with art deco flourishes, the film showcases coquettish Colbert to perfection.

Paramount Productions, Inc.  Director: Cecil B. DeMille.  Screenwriter: Waldemar Young, Vincent Lawrence.  Based on an adaptation of historical material by Bartlett Cormack.  Cinematographer: Victor Milner.  Editor: Anne Bauchens.  Cast: Claudette Colbert, Warren William, Henry Wilcoxon, Joseph Schildkraut, Ian Keith.  35mm, b/w, 100 min.

Restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive from Cecil B. DeMille's personal 35mm nitrate print, with funding provided by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and The Cecil B. DeMille Foundation, and the cooperation of Universal Pictures.

The Sign of the Cross  (1932)


Hedonistic Roman Emperor Nero (Charles Laughton) cruelly persecutes adherents of the upstart Christian religion.  When Roman prefect Marcus Superbus (Frederic March) encounters beautiful Mercia, a devout Christian, his sympathetic attentions arouse the jealousy of Empress Poppaea (Claudette Colbert), who desires him.  The heated drama climaxes at the arena where Christians and others are sacrificed amid perverse and savage games.  A smash hit, the film proclaimed director Cecil B. DeMille's triumphant return to Paramount, where his career had first blossomed, following a period of independent production and a brief period at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.  The film also features a quintessential DeMille flourish: Poppaea's sensous bath in a sunken tub filled with asses' milk.

Paramount Publix Corp.  Producer/Director: Cecil B. DeMille.  Screenwriter: Waldemar Young, Sidney Bushman.  Based on the play by Wilson Barrett.  Cinematographer: Karl Struss.  Editor: Anne Bauchens.  Cast: Fredric March, Elissa Landi, Claudette Colbert, Charles Laughton, Ian Keith.  35mm, b/w, 124 min.

Part of: 
The Greatest Showman: Cecil B. DeMille