Greatest Film Scenes
and Moments



Cleopatra (1934)

 



Written by Tim Dirks

Title Screen
Movie Title/Year and Scene Descriptions
Screenshots

Cleopatra (1934)

In director Cecil B. DeMille's classic:

  • the triumphant arrival of Queen of Egypt Cleopatra (midriff-bearing Claudette Colbert) and Caesar (Warren Williams) into Rome for their wedding
  • the scene of Caesar's assassination by stabbing from members of the Roman Senate, including by Brutus (Arthur Hohl) - "Et tu Brutus?!" - followed by Cleopatra's stunned reaction to the news of the murder; when she was urged to think of Egypt, and warned to flee and escape from Rome before being killed, she responded: "Gone. Yes, gone. What do I care for empire now? Caesar is dead. My lover is dead!"; she was in blind disbelief when told that Caesar didn't love her, but only wanted to acquire Egypt's treasure
  • the infamous barge/bordello scene (the prelude to the seduction of another Roman, Marc Antony (Henry Wilcoxon)) that began with near-naked dancing girls accompanying an ox (with a dancer riding upon it and stroking its side) - and the remarkable sequence in which 'clams' that were hauled up in a net were revealed to be more dancing-girls wrapped in seaweed who prostrated themselves and held out opened jewel-filled seashells, followed by leopard-skinned animals/girls led by trainers with whips - and more!
The Infamous Barge/Bordello Sequence
  • and in the film's conclusion when wearing a low-cut black gown - Cleopatra's memorable request for a basket to kill herself after learning of the suicidal death of Marc Antony: ("Now give me the basket - it holds victory"); after reaching in, she removed a real, one-foot long snake/asp and applied it to her naked breast in one of the most memorable suicidal death scenes in film history; she was bitten, and then expired while sitting on the throne- she sat immobile and defeated there as her kingdom was conquered
Cleopatra's Suicidal Death by Asp

Cleopatra's Triumphant Entry into Rome

Caesar's Assassination


Receiving the News of Caesar's Murder

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