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 |
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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Facts about
Reportedly, when Cecil B. DeMille heard the booming voice of John Carradine, he chased him down the boulevard until he caught up with the unemployed actor, who wound up doing 5 features for the famed director.
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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