The Sign of the Cross (1932)

A Roman soldier becomes torn between his love for a Christian woman and his loyalty to Emperor Nero.

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille (as Cecil B. De Mille)

Writers:

Waldemar Young (screen play), Sidney Buchman (screen play)

Stars:

Fredric March, Claudette Colbert, Elissa Landi

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fredric March	...	Marcus Superbus, Prefect of Rome
Elissa Landi	...	Mercia
Claudette Colbert	...	Empress Poppaea
Charles Laughton	...	Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar
Ian Keith	...	Tigellinus
Arthur Hohl	...	Titus
Harry Beresford	...	Favius Fontelas
Tommy Conlon	...	Stephan
Ferdinand Gottschalk	...	Glabrio
Vivian Tobin	...	Dacia
William V. Mong	...	Licinius / Old Man Carrying Child
Joyzelle Joyner	...	Ancaria (as Joyzelle)
Richard Alexander	...	Viturius
Nat Pendleton	...	Strabo
Clarence Burton	...	Servillius

Storyline

After burning Rome, Emperor Nero decides to blame the Christians, and issues the edict that they are all to be caught and sent to the arena. Two old Christians are caught, and about to be hauled off, when Marcus, the highest military official in Rome, comes upon them. When he sees their stepdaughter Mercia, he instantly falls in love with her and frees them. Marcus pursues Mercia, which gets him into trouble with Emperor (for being easy on Christians) and with the Empress, who loves him and is jealous.

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Plot Keywords:

nero | pre code film | gold coin | wine | silver coin | 

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Taglines:

A picture which will proudly lead all the entertainments the world has ever seen

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cecil B. DeMille was pressured to drop Ancaria's seductive dance in the orgy scene by Will H. Hays of the Hays Office, but DeMille adamantly refused. Still, censors often cut out gruesome parts of the film, particularly, the cart carrying dead bodies out of the arena, a gorilla dancing around a semi-nude girl, elephants stomping Christians and picking them up with their tusks, crocodiles about to eat a bound girl, etc. These scenes are all in the restored version.

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Goofs

When the boxers are fighting with the spiked gloves, the loser gets punched in the face. He is shown with scars on his face and spits blood onto his chest. In the next shot (from a slightly different angle) the scars are there but the blood on his chest is gone.

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Quotes

Poppaea: Do you love this girl? Answer me!
Marcus Superbus, Prefect of Rome: Well, then I... I don't know.
Poppaea: That says you perhaps do. I could laugh with Rome about it if I didn't care so much. Marcus Superbus... caught at last by a Christian wanton.
Marcus Superbus, Prefect of Rome: You've no right to call her that.
Poppaea: Oh, very much in love.
Marcus Superbus, Prefect of Rome: Well, why not? It's not so impossible, so laughable. She's young, beautiful, virtuous. I find I'm sick of patrician women.
Poppaea: That's a direct enough insult.

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Alternate Versions

Re-released in 1944, with some cuts (sex and sadism scenes) and preceded by a nine minute prologue, set in present time with a WWII theme. This re-release version runs 118 minutes.

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Connections

Referenced in Quo Vadis (1951)

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Soundtracks

Ancaria's Song and Dance (The Naked Moon)
(1932) (uncredited)
Music by Rudolph G. Kopp
Lyrics by Sidney Buchman
Played at the orgy and danced and sung by Joyzelle Joyner

User Reviews

Donkey Milk, Take Me Away

Great old DeMille flick about the persecution of Christians in ancient Rome. The movie starts with Emperor Nero (Charles Laughton) laughing and playing music while Rome burns. When someone reminds him that the people might hold Nero responsible, he quickly decides to blame the unpopular believers of the new Christian religion. As Christians are being rounded up and killed, Roman prefect Marcus (Fredric March) falls in love with a Christian girl (Elissa Landi). This doesn't sit well with Empress Poppaea (Claudette Colbert), who's in love with Marcus, and she conspires to have the girl arrested.

Charles Laughton gives an outrageously hammy performance and I loved every second of it. I wish he had been in the film a lot more. Fredric March is good, as always. Lovely Elissa Landi does an admirable job in probably her biggest role but she's eclipsed by Claudette Colbert. What this film is perhaps most famous for is the scene where Colbert takes a bath in donkey milk, in which we see quite a bit of what God gave Ms. Colbert to work with. She's a beautiful woman and it's a very sexy scene. The sets and costumes are great, as one expects from a Cecil B. DeMille picture. It's just a really good film, entertaining and dramatic, with some provocative bits of sex and violence that will surely please pre-Code fans. If for no other reason, see it for Colbert.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Sign of the Cross

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min (without intermission) 125 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1