''The Sign of the Cross'' is a 1932 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

epic film Epic films are a style of filmmaking with large-scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The usage of the term has shifted over time, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply synonymous with big-budget filmmaking. Like epics in ...

produced and directed by

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cine ...

and released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

. Based on the original 1895 play by English playwright

Wilson Barrett Wilson Barrett (born William Henry Barrett; 18 February 1846 – 22 July 1904) was an English manager, actor, and playwright. With his company, Barrett is credited with attracting the largest crowds of English theatregoers ever because of his suc ...

, the screenplay was written by

Waldemar Young Waldemar Young (July 1, 1878 – August 30, 1938) was an American screenwriter. He wrote for more than 80 films between 1917 and 1938. Biography He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and died in Hollywood, California from pneumonia. Waldemar ...

and

Sidney Buchman Sidney Robert Buchman (March 27, 1902 – August 23, 1975) was an American screenwriter and film producer who worked on about 40 films from the late 1920s to the early 1970s. He received four Oscar nominations and won once for Best Screenplay ...

. It stars

Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary ''Variety'', April 16, 1975, p ...

Elissa Landi Elissa Landi (born Elisabeth Marie Christine Kühnelt; December 6, 1904 – October 21, 1948) was an Austrian-American actress born in Venice, who was popular as a performer in Hollywood films of the 1920s and 1930s. She was noted for her a ...

Claudette Colbert Claudette Colbert ( ; born Émilie Claudette Chauchoin; September 13, 1903July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the late 1920s and progressed to films with the advent of talking pictures ...

, and

Charles Laughton Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future w ...

, with

Ian Keith Ian Keith (born Keith Ross; February 27, 1899 – March 26, 1960) was an American actor. Early years Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Keith grew up in Chicago. He was educated at the Francis Parker School there and played Hamlet in a school p ...

and

Arthur Hohl Arthur Hohl (May 21, 1889 – March 10, 1964) was an American stage and motion-picture character actor. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and began appearing in films in the early 1920s. He played a great number of villainous or mildly l ...

. Both play and film have a strong resemblance to the 1895–96 novel ''

Quo Vadis ''Quō vādis?'' (, ) is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you marching?". It is also commonly translated as "Where are you going?" or, poetically, "Whither goest thou?" The phrase originates from the Christian tradition regarding Saint Pete ...

'' and, like the novel, take place in ancient

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

during the reign of

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

. The art direction and costume design were by

Mitchell Leisen James Mitchell Leisen (October 6, 1898 – October 28, 1972) was an American director, art director, and costume designer. Film career He entered the film industry in the 1920s, beginning in the art and costume departments. He directed his fir ...

, who also acted as assistant director.

Karl Struss Karl Struss, A.S.C. (November 30, 1886 – December 15, 1981) was an American photographer and a cinematographer of the 1900s through the 1950s. He was also one of the earliest pioneers of 3-D films. While he mostly worked on films, such as F. ...

was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Cinematography The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture. History In its first film season, 1927–28, this award (like others such as the acting awards) ...

. It is the third and last in DeMille's biblical trilogy, following ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

'' (1923) and '' The King of Kings'' (1927).

Plot

During the

Great Fire of Rome The Great Fire of Rome ( la, incendium magnum Romae) occurred in July AD 64. The fire began in the merchant shops around Rome's chariot stadium, Circus Maximus, on the night of 19 July. After six days, the fire was brought under control, but before ...

in AD 64, Emperor Nero fiddles.

Tigellinus Ofonius Tigellinus (c. 10 – 69) was a prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, from 62 until 68, during the reign of emperor Nero. Tigellinus gained imperial favour through his acquaintance wit ...

informs Nero that he is suspected of starting the fire. Nero instead has the fire blamed on the

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. In Rome, the Apostle

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

, Mercia, and Favius are apprehended by a mob for being Christians. Marcus Superbus, the prefect of Rome, arrives and disperses the mob allowing the Christians to go free. News of Marcus's mercy towards the Christians spreads throughout Rome, including Empress Poppaea. At a fountain, Marcus meets with Mercia again; there, Licinius reads Nero's edict to Marcus reminding him of his duty to arrest Christians. Later that night, Titus sends Stephan, a young Christian man, to tell other Christians of the secret meeting at the Cestian Bridge. Shortly after, Marcus arrives at Mercia's home wanting to take her for himself, but Mercia decides to stay. Stephan is arrested by Licinius under suspicion of being a Christian. In a dungeon, Stephan is tortured, and reveals the location of the Christians' secret meeting. After learning of Stephan's arrest and torture, Marcus races to the meeting hoping to save Mercia. Along the way, he crashes into Poppaea's carriage. She demands for Marcus to stay, but he leaves her and promises to be with her in the morning. At the meeting, Roman soldiers surround the Christians where Titus and some members of his congregation are struck dead by arrows. Marcus arrives at the meeting and saves Mercia, and takes her home, while the other Christians are arrested and sent into the prison chamber. The next morning, Poppaea scolds Marcus for his affections to Mercia. Elsewhere in the palace, Tigellinus informs Nero of Marcus's disobedience to his edict, in which Nero accuses Marcus of betrayal. Jealous of Mercia, Poppaea influences Nero to sign an order for Mercia to be arrested from Marcus's home. At a feast in Marcus's home, he introduces Mercia to Ancaria, who performs an exotic dance. Outside of Marcus's home, Ancaria's performance is drowned out by the Christians' singing. Annoyed by the singing, Marcus sends his party away so he may be left alone with Mercia. He demands for Mercia to renounce her Christian faith so she may be with him, but she refuses. Shortly after, Licinius arrives to arrest Mercia, who is to be executed for treason amongst one hundred Christians in the arena. Marcus returns to Nero's palace and demands for the emperor to spare Mercia, but Nero refuses. In the arena, the audience is entertained by several spectacles, including gladiator battles. When the time for the Christians' execution arrives, Mercia is told to stay behind by Poppaea's orders as she is to be executed alone. In the arena, the Christians are mauled to death by

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

s. Following the execution, Marcus again asks for Mercia to renounce her faith and be his wife. Mercia refuses once more, but she states that she loves him. Refusing to live without her, Marcus accompanies Mercia where they are both executed.

Cast

as Marcus Superbus,

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of Rome *

as Mercia *

as Empress Poppaea *

Emperor Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...

Harry Beresford Harry J. Beresford (4 November 1863 – 4 October 1944) was an English-born actor on the American stage and in motion pictures. He used the professional name Harry J. Morgan early in his career. Career Harry Beresford began his acting career i ...

as Favius Fontellus * Tommy Conlon as Stephan *

Ferdinand Gottschalk Ferdinand Gottschalk (28 February 1858 – 10 November 1944) was an English theatre and film actor. He appeared in 76 films between 1917 and 1938. He was born and died in London, England. He made his first appearance on the stage in Toronto ...

as Glabrio * Vivian Tobin as Dacia *

William V. Mong William V. Mong (June 25, 1875 – December 10, 1940) was an American film actor, screenwriter and director. He appeared in almost 200 films between 1910 and 1939. His directing (1911–1918) and screenwriting (1911–1922) were mostly for ...

as Licinius *

Joyzelle Joyner Joyzelle Joyner (August 27, 1905 – November 30, 1980) was an American actress and dancer. She appeared in at least thirty films between 1925 and 1935, garnering some notoriety for her appearance in '' The Sign of the Cross''. Career Joyner be ...

as Ancaria * Richard Alexander as Viturius *

Nat Pendleton Nathaniel Greene Pendleton (August 9, 1895 – October 12, 1967) was an American Olympic wrestler, film actor, and stage performer. His younger brother, Edmund J. Pendleton (1899-1987), was a well-known music composer and choir maste ...

as Strabo *

Clarence Burton Clarence Forrest Burton (May 10, 1882 – December 2, 1933) was an American silent film actor. Biography Burton was born in Fort Lyon, in Benton County, Missouri and started in show business at the age of 5, playing stock and musical comedy ...

as Servillius * Harold Healy as Tybul * Robert Manning as Philodemus * Charles Middleton as Tyros *

Mischa Auer Mischa Auer (born Mikhail Semyonovich Unkovsky (Михаил Семёнович Унковский; 17 November 1905 – 5 March 1967) was a Russians, Russian-born American actor who moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s. He first appeared in fi ...

as Christian in Dungeon (uncredited) *

Lionel Belmore Lionel Belmore (12 May 1867 – 30 January 1953) was an English character actor and director on stage for more than a quarter of a century. Life and career Onstage, Belmore appeared with Wilson Barrett, Sir Henry Irving, William Faversham, Lil ...

as Bettor (uncredited) * Henry Brandon as Spectator (uncredited) *

Edward LeSaint Edward LeSaint (January 1, 1871 – September 10, 1940) was an American stage and film actor and director whose career began in the silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dia ...

as Spectator (uncredited)

Production

The famous scene in which Poppaea (Claudette Colbert) bathes in asses' milk took several days to shoot. DeMille announced to the press that real asses' milk was used; however, it was actually powdered cow's milk. After a few days under the hot lights, the milk turned sour, making it very unpleasant for Colbert to work in the stench. To save production expense during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, existing sets were reused as well as costumes left over from the making of ''

'' (1923). DeMille also attempted to provide out-of-work actors jobs as extras such as the crowd arena scenes.

Marketing and distribution

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

marketed the film using

market segmentation In marketing, market segmentation is the process of dividing a broad consumer or business market, normally consisting of existing and potential customers, into sub-groups of consumers (known as ''segments'') based on some type of shared characte ...

by focusing their promotion efforts on three market segments. The first was general moviegoers and movie enthusiasts who enjoyed certain features of religiously themed movies, movie goers who regularly attended church, and students of primary and elementary schools.

Reception

In 2008, the film was nominated for the American Film Institute's 10 Top 10 in the Epic Film category.

Editing for reissue after enforcement of the Production Code

As with many other pre-Code films that were reissued after the

Motion Picture Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

was strictly enforced in 1934, this film has a history of censorship. In the original version, Marcus Superbus (Fredric March) is unsuccessful in his attempt to seduce Mercia (Elisa Landi), an innocent Christian girl. He then urges Ancaria (Joyzelle Joyner) to perform the erotic "Dance of the Naked Moon" that will "warm her into life". This "

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

dance" was

cut Cut may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** Cut (ea ...

from the negative for a 1938 reissue, but was restored by

MCA/Universal MCA Inc. (originally an initialism for Music Corporation of America) was an American media conglomerate founded in 1924. Originally a talent agency with artists in the music business as clients, the company became a major force in the film ind ...

for its 1993 video release. Some

gladiator A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...

ial combat footage was also cut for the 1938 reissue, as were arena sequences involving naked women being attacked by crocodiles and a gorilla. These were also restored in 1993. DeMille himself supervised a new version for its 1944 rerelease. New footage with a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

setting, featuring actor

Stanley Ridges Stanley Charles Ridges (17 July 1890 – 22 April 1951) was an English-born, American actor who made more than 100 appearances in theatre and movies from 1917 to 1951. After his American film debut in '' Success'' (1923), he appeared in films ...

(who did not originally appear in the film) was added to make the film more topical. In the new prologue, a group of planes is seen flying over what was ancient Rome. The conversation of the soldiers in one of the planes leads directly into the film's original opening scene. The last few seconds of the edited version of the film showed the planes flying off into the distance, rather than simply fading out on the original closing scene of the movie. For many years, this edited version was the only one available. The version now shown on

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...

has been restored to the original 125 minute length by the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Also a nonprofit exhibition venue, the archiv ...

with the help of the DeMille estate and

Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predeces ...

, which now owns most pre-1950 Paramount sound features.

Catholic Legion of Decency

The reaction of the

Catholic Church in the United States With 23 percent of the United States' population , the Catholic Church is the country's second largest religious grouping, after Protestantism, and the country's largest single church or Christian denomination where Protestantism is divided i ...

to the content in this film and in ''Ann Vickers'' helped lead to the 1934 formation of the

Catholic Legion of Decency The National Legion of Decency, also known as the Catholic Legion of Decency, was a Catholic group founded in 1934 by Archbishop of Cincinnati, John T. McNicholas, as an organization dedicated to identifying objectionable content in motion pictu ...

, an organization dedicated to identifying and combating objectionable content, from the point of view of the Church, in motion pictures.

Home media

This film, along with ''

Four Frightened People ''Four Frightened People'' is a 1934 American Pre-Code adventure film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Claudette Colbert, Herbert Marshall, Mary Boland, and William Gargan. It is based on the 1931 novel by E. Arnot Robertson. Plot The ...

'' (1934), ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

'' (1934), ''

The Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

'' (1935) and ''

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

'' (1939), was released on DVD in 2006 by Universal Studios as part of ''The Cecil B. DeMille Collection'', a new Blu-ray edition was released on August 25, 2020 by

Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art house films, ...

References

Citations Bibliography
Barrett, Wilson ''The Sign of the Cross'', J.B. Lippincott Company, (Philadelphia), 1896
Barrett's novelized version of his play. * * * Online sources * * *

External links

* * * *
''The Sign of the Cross''
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Sign of the Cross (1932 sound film), The 1932 films 1932 drama films American films based on plays American drama films American epic films American black-and-white films Articles containing video clips Films directed by Cecil B. DeMille Films set in the 1st century Films set in the Roman Empire Paramount Pictures films Religious epic films Depictions of Nero on film Cultural depictions of Poppaea Sabina Films set in Rome Lesbian-related films Films with screenplays by Sidney Buchman Films about gladiatorial combat World War II films made in wartime 1940s English-language films