The Sign of the Cross

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Cecil B. DeMille's pre-Hays Code Roman costume drama manages to mix fast-and-loose historical facts with melodrama and titillation. Fredric March plays Marcus Superbus, a Roman soldier and womanizer who jeopardizes his position in Nero's storm troopers by developing a crush on a beautiful Christian girl, Mercia (Elissa Landi). With the Christians keeping their faith far underground, Superbus walks a tightrope between his obligations to the state and his love for Mercia until she and her family are rounded up and hauled off to the arena. The Sign of the Cross is not without its problems; by modern standards, it often seems slow and stagy, and its moralistic message comes across as blunt and heavy-handed. DeMille, however, shrewdly knew how to keep an audience's attention in ways that would have been impossible in subsequent years. Consider Claudette Colbert as the alluring, evil Poppaea, lolling in a bath of asses' milk with her breasts almost completely exposed. Or there's the scene where Marcus tries to get Mercia to loosen up a bit; his idea of a fun time is to take her to an orgy where she's groped by a lesbian during an erotic dance. Then there's Charles Laughton as the decadent Nero, his fey manner abetted by an oiled-up boy-toy at his side in nearly every scene. The climactic scenes at the arena are still violent today, with Christians being gnawed by lions, gladiators knocking each other's brains out, and an Amazon spearing a Pygmy and carrying him around like a kebab! The Sign of the Cross was heavily cut for rerelease in later years but is now available again in its uncut form. --Jerry Renshaw

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Amazon.com
Cecil B. DeMille's pre-Hays Code Roman costume drama manages to mix fast-and-loose historical facts with melodrama and titillation. Fredric March plays Marcus Superbus, a Roman soldier and womanizer who jeopardizes his position in Nero's storm troopers by developing a crush on a beautiful Christian girl, Mercia (Elissa Landi). With the Christians keeping their faith far underground, Superbus walks a tightrope between his obligations to the state and his love for Mercia until she and her family are rounded up and hauled off to the arena. The Sign of the Cross is not without its problems; by modern standards, it often seems slow and stagy, and its moralistic message comes across as blunt and heavy-handed. DeMille, however, shrewdly knew how to keep an audience's attention in ways that would have been impossible in subsequent years. Consider Claudette Colbert as the alluring, evil Poppaea, lolling in a bath of asses' milk with her breasts almost completely exposed. Or there's the scene where Marcus tries to get Mercia to loosen up a bit; his idea of a fun time is to take her to an orgy where she's groped by a lesbian during an erotic dance. Then there's Charles Laughton as the decadent Nero, his fey manner abetted by an oiled-up boy-toy at his side in nearly every scene. The climactic scenes at the arena are still violent today, with Christians being gnawed by lions, gladiators knocking each other's brains out, and an Amazon spearing a Pygmy and carrying him around like a kebab! The Sign of the Cross was heavily cut for rerelease in later years but is now available again in its uncut form. --Jerry Renshaw

The Sign of the Cross: Recovering the Power of the Ancient Prayer ... Making the sign of the cross is something many Catholics do reflexively, without giving much thought to its roots in ancient Christian practice. If practiced ... Amazon.com: The Sign of the Cross: Fredric March, Claudette ... In this classic movie directed by Cecil B. DeMille, the half-mad Emperor Nero (Charles Laughton) delights in burning the city and blaming the fire on the Christians ... The Sign of the Cross (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Sign of the Cross (1932) is a pre-Code epic film released by Paramount Pictures, produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille from a screenplay by Waldemar Young and ... Sign of the Cross - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The sign of the cross, or crossing oneself, is a ritual hand motion made by members of many branches of Christianity, often accompanied by spoken or mental recitation ... The Sign of the Cross About the Sign of the Cross -- when to make it, how to make it, etc. The Sign of the Cross - How to Make the Sign of the Cross in the ... What is the Sign of the Cross, and how do Catholics pray it? Find the text and instructions here, and memorize the Sign of the Cross. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Sign of the Cross - NEW ADVENT: Home Sign of the Cross. A term applied to various manual acts, liturgical or devotional in character, which have this at least in common: that by the gesture of tracing ... THE SIGN OF THE CROSS The Sign of the Cross Taken from the Fountain of Catholic Knowledge OFFICE OF CATHOLIC PUBLICATIONS, Imprimatur, 1877 and from THE CATECHIST, by the Very Rev. Canon ... The Sign of the Cross (1932) - IMDb Director: Cecil B. DeMille. Actors: Fredric March: Marcus Superbus Elissa Landi: Mercia Claudette Colbert: Poppea Charles Laughton: Nero Ian Keith ... Sign of the Cross - OrthodoxWiki The Sign of the Cross is a symbolic ritual gesture which marks the four points of the Cross on Calvary over one's body. It also represents loving God with all one's ...