I, Claudius (1937)

Interesting facts

• Budget: $500K
• Based on: I, Claudius

I, Claudius is an unfinished 1937 film adaptation of the novels I, Claudius (1934) and Claudius the God (1935) by Robert Graves. Produced by Erich Pommer for Alexander Korda's London Films, the film was directed by Josef von Sternberg, with Charles Laughton in the title role. The production was dogged by adverse circumstances, culminating in a car accident involving co-star Merle Oberon that caused filming to be ended before completion. Footage from the production was incorporated into a 1965 documentary on the making of the film, The Epic That Never Was.

Production

I, Claudius was a production of Alexander Korda's London Films, produced by Erich Pommer, directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Charles Laughton (as Claudius), Emlyn Williams (as Caligula), Flora Robson (as Livia), and Merle Oberon (as Messalina). Also in the cast were Allan Aynesworth (as Senator Asiaticus) and John Clements (as Valens).

The production was dogged by "ill circumstances". Oberon was injured in a car accident 16 March 1937, suffering facial cuts and a slight concussion. On 26 March 1937, it was announced that the film was abandoned. Suspicions that the accident was used as a pretext for cancelling the troubled production surfaced within days, when columnist Sheilah Graham reported that quarrels between Korda and Laughton over Laughton's interpretation of Claudius wa…

A scheme to make use of the I, Claudius footage by incorporating it into The Denham Studio Mystery, a proposed sequel to The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1939), fell through.

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