ISSUE DATE: Aug. 27, 1934
THE BUZZ:
When William Shakespeare was ready to write the story of Cleopatra, he needed nothing more than pen, ink, paper and his own lively genius. Three centuries later George Bernard Shaw required no more equipment for the same task. But when Paramount put Cecil Blount DeMille to work on this well-worn old tale, that old-time director could not even get started without $750,000, a majority of the unemployed actors in Hollywood, ten crates of real grapes by airmail from South America, an $800 history book and a month of conferences aboard his yacht. Last week, after four more months spent in actual production, the result of Director DeMille’s elaborate functionings was placed before the public as Cleopatra.
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