The Sign of the Cross (1932) on Netflix
A Roman prefect, Marcus Superbus, loves Mercia, a Christian he spared from a mob. Nero has blamed Rome's great fire on the Christians, and the emperor's edict orders Marcus to arrest them.
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Plot summary
In Rome, after the great fire, Emperor Nero deflects suspicion from himself by laying the blame on the Christians. A mob seizes the Apostle Titus, Mercia and Favius until Marcus Superbus, prefect of the city, arrives and disperses the crowd, letting them go. Titus sends Stephan, a young Christian, to tell the others of a secret meeting at the Cestian Bridge. News of Marcus's mercy reaches the Empress Poppaea, and at a fountain he meets Mercia again, where Licinius reads him Nero's edict and reminds him of his duty to arrest Christians. Poppaea is jealous of his interest in Mercia, and Marcus wants the woman for himself, though she will not turn from her faith.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Sign of the Cross (1932)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Cecil B. DeMille wrote that the elephants hired for an arena scene remembered their circus training and stood on their heads when the Roman spectators cheered. Later the whole herd stampeded, and a female elephant carrying actor Bob Miles put him on the ground and stood over him until the others were corralled.
- DeMille told the press that Poppaea's bath used real asses' milk, but the production actually used Klim, a brand of powdered cow's milk, which soured after days under the hot lights. Claudette Colbert said that after eight hours of takes she lost four pounds, her lacquered wig melted, and the warm milk turned to curds.
- Marcus Superbus urges Ancaria to perform the erotic "Dance of the Naked Moon" to warm the Christian Mercia into life; the dance, called a "lesbian dance", was cut from the negative for the 1938 reissue and restored by MCA/Universal for its 1993 video release.
- Cecil B. DeMille recalled that the screen test he shot of Claudette Colbert and Fredric March was the shortest dialogue test on record: the two spoke only five words of the script before he called a halt.
- The Catholic Church's reaction to The Sign of the Cross and to Ann Vickers helped lead to the 1934 founding of the Catholic Legion of Decency, an organization set up to identify and combat objectionable content in motion pictures.
- Claudette Colbert bathing in milk in The Sign of the Cross gave rise to the famous modern myth that Cleopatra bathed in milk, helped by Colbert also portraying Cleopatra in 1934.
- DeMille tried to borrow George Brent from Warner Bros. for the role of Marcus, but Brent was too in demand at Warners to be available, so DeMille instead cast Fredric March on June 7, 1932.
- The film's Roman costumes required 27 miles of silk, cotton, wool and linen, cut and sewn by 300 workers over several weeks, and 7,000 extras had to be costumed with matching leather sandals, belts, leggings and chest protectors.
