CECIL B. DeMILLE

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB. 

USA, 1934.  Paramount Pictures.  Screenplay by Waldemar Young, Vincent Lawrence, based on the adaptation of historical material by Bartlett Cormack.  Cinematography by Victor Milner.  Produced by Cecil B. DeMille.  Music by Rudolph G. Kopp.  Production Design by Roland Anderson, Hans Dreier.  Costume Design by Vicky Williams.  Film Editing by Anne Bauchens.  Academy Awards 1934.

Not nearly as grand as the Elizabeth Taylor version, its more modest length and sharper plotline make this version of the Queen of the Nile’s story more entertaining (though Liz was, by comparison, more historically accurate). Claudette Colbert ably plays the most famous seductress in history after Eve, swishing around in her 1930s art deco-inspired ancient Egyptian garb and directing her men about. The guys in this film use expressions such as “nope” to very good effect, but pay no mind and you’ll have a good time. It’s not as important as the spectacle films that Cecil B. DeMille made on such a regular basis, but it features the kind of over-elaborate design that he is still so well known for.