Suez

Tyrone Power digs a canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.  Loretta Young jilts him in favor of a Napoleon (not THE Napoleon), and future real-life wife Annabella dies in a sand storm before Tyrone Power recognizes her romantic potential.  The sand storm is called a "simoon".

It was declared at the end of the movie that this was a "Movie Quiz $250,000 Contest Picture".  I had seen this before so I looked it up.  This was a huge promotion sponsored jointly by the major studios.  Entry forms were distributed at theaters.  They contained a multiple choice question from each of 94 different movies that were released during August, September, and October of 1938.  To enter you had to answer 30 questions and write a short essay about your favorite movie.  There is a listing on Amazon for a copy of the entry form (but it is unavailable) $250,000.00 Movie Quiz Contest (5,404 Ways to Win a Prize).  I would be very interested in finding a full list of the questions but so far, no luck. You can read the question for Suez from the Amazon link:
What great catastrophe retards the building of the Suez Canal in "Suez"? (Check One)
( ) a simoon
( ) a flood
( ) a fire
( ) an earthquake

and you thought my "simoon" comment was irrelevant.

Familiar face: Nigel Bruce