On this date in 31 BC, during the Final War of the Roman Republic: Battle of Actium, off the western coast of Greece, forces of Octavian defeated troops under Mark Antony and Cleopatra.
The shoot for “Cleopatra” (1934) was a difficult one due to star Claudette Colbert contracting appendicitis on the set of her previous film, “Four Frightened People” (1934), leaving her only able to stand for a few minutes at a time.
Heavy costumes complicated matters further.
Due to Colbert’s fear of snakes, director Cecil B. DeMille put off her death scene for as long as possible.
At the time of shooting, he walked onto the set with a boa constrictor wrapped around his neck and handed Colbert a tiny garden snake.
On July 1, 1934, the Motion Picture Production Code began to be rigidly enforced and expanded by Joseph Breen.
Talkie films made before that date are generally referred to as “pre-Code” films.
However, DeMille was able to get away with using more risqué imagery than he would be able to do in his later productions.
He opens the film with an apparently naked, but strategically lit slave girl holding up an incense burner in each hand as the title appears on screen.
Colbert later said: “DeMille’s films were special: somehow when he put everything together, there was a special kind of glamour and sincerity.”
At the 7th Academy Awards in 1935, “Cleopatra” won for Best Cinematography (Victor Milner), and was nominated for four more awards: Outstanding Production (Paramount), Best Assistant Director (Cullen Tate), Best Film Editing (Anne Bauchens), and Best Sound Recording (Franklin Hansen).
Although Colbert was not nominated for Best Actress for her work, she went home with the OScar, anyway, winnign for her work in “It Happened One Night” (1934. (Wikipedia)