The Sign of the Cross (1932) | |
| Director(s) | Cecil B. DeMille |
| Producer(s) | Cecil B. DeMille |
| Top Genres | Drama, Epic, Film Adaptation, Historical |
| Top Topics | Ancient World, Based on Play, Bible, Book-Based, Pre-Code Cinema, Religious |
Featured Cast:
The Sign of the Cross Overview:
The Sign of the Cross (1932) was a Historical - Drama Film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and produced by Cecil B. DeMille.
SYNOPSIS
DeMille's version of Nero's Rome allowed him to depict vice, naked women, homosexuality, lesbians, and cannibalism - all in the name of moral instruction. Laughton plays Nero in a campy performance reportedly based on Mussolini, while Colbert, as Poppea, bathes in real asses' milk (which apparently turned to hideously foul-smelling cheese under the lights) and makes eyes at the captain of the guard, March. March, though, only desires the pure Landi, a Christian convert. When she's led into the arena after Nero blames his conflagration on the Christians, March nobly joins his true love in her sacrifice. In typical DeMille fashion, the film's press kit boasted of a cast of more than 4,000 and a menagerie gathered from 12 zoos.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
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Academy Awards 1932/33 --- Ceremony Number 6 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Cinematography | Karl Struss | Nominated |
The Sign of the Cross BlogHub Articles:
Pre-Code Corner: Skin and Savagery in The Sign of the Cross: 7 Vicious Pre-Code Moments
By Kim Luperi on Nov 4, 2017 From Classic Movie Hub BlogSkin and Savagery in The Sign of the Cross: 7 Vicious Pre-Code Moments An epic tale of decadence, morality and religious persecution adorned with lust, violence, love, and everything in between, Cecil B. DeMille’s The Sign of the Cross (1932) remains one of the most audacious pictures of the p... Read full article
The Sign of the Cross (1932) (2)
on Feb 26, 2014 From Journeys in Classic FilmMovies about the persecution of oppressed peoples cover all ethnicities and religions since time immemorial, and with Christianity at an all-time high in the 1920s/1930s it’s easy to figure out why Hollywood filmed The Sign of the Cross.? Unfortunately, time isn’t kind and The Sign of th... Read full article
The Sign of the Cross (1932) (1)
By Angela on Nov 30, 2013 From Hollywood RevueAs Nero (Charles Laughton) watches Rome burn, he blames Christians for starting the whole thing rather than admit he started it.? Nero’s accusation places all Christians in Rome in great danger.? When Titus (Arthur Hohl) and Flavius (Harry Beresford) publicly admit to being Christians, they ar... Read full article
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Quotes from The Sign of the Cross
Facts about The Sign of the Cross
One of over 700 Paramount productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by MCA ever since. The 1944 re-release version was chosen for this television package and was not replaced with the original uncut version until the 1990's.
Since Cecil B. DeMille's previous few films had been box office failures, he agreed to work on this project at a drastically lowered personal rate, and with a tighter budget than seemed reasonable at the time. Mitchell Leisen and production manager Roy Burns were the only frequent collaborators DeMille was allowed to keep on, and they also worked at reduced salaries. Paramount assigned Alexander Hall to edit the film, but DeMille was able to get him replaced by his regular editor, Anne Bauchens.
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