Movie Review: The Sign of the Cross (1932)
In the year 64 A.D., Rome burns while Nero (Charles Laughton) composes poetry, accompanying himself on the lyre. Ambitious bodyguard Tigelinus (Ian Keith) warns that some parties are blaming the fires on Nero himself. Nero doesn’t actually deny the rumor, but doesn’t confirm it either. Tigelinus suggests blaming the fire on the Christians, a radical sect that he believes are planning to overthrow the government.
Thus there is now a bounty on Christians, which two local thugs try to collect by nabbing a couple of old men who were seen making the sign of the cross. The ward of one of the men, Mercia (Elissa Landi) , tries to intervene, but the scene is turning into a riot. The draws the attention of prefect Marcus Superbus (Fredric March). Immediately smitten by the beautiful Mercia, Marcus allows the old men to go free by answering evasively about their religion.
Marcus, meanwhile, is a favorite of Empress Poppea (Claudette Colbert), who has the hots for him, even though he’s too loyal to Nero to return the favor. Rumors start flying about Marcus and Mercia, and Tigelinus sees them as a way to discredit Marcus and become prefect himself. Things rapidly go from bad to worse.
This was a Cecil B. DeMille movie, his first talkie film with a religious theme. It was made before the Hays Code, so contains some scenes that are kind of spicy by the standards of the early 1930s. Reactions to these scenes helped lead to the formation of the Catholic League of Decency. In particular, there’s the Dance of the Naked Moon, performed by the “wicked” Ancaria (Joyzelle Joyner) at Marcus’ request to try to get Mercia to loosen up a bit at his banquet. It has some pretty blatant lesbian overtones.
Mind, that dance is overcome by the power of Christian prisoners singing hymns. Make no mistake, the author is on the side of Mercia and her fellow believers, no matter how many scantily-clad women may be on display. There’s some shirtless men too, but the camera doesn’t linger on them the same way.
Quite a bit of violence is also on display, with archers massacring a Christian gathering, and a full day of events at the Games. DeMille has some fun with little bits of dialogue among the audience at the Coliseum, pointing up similarities to audiences at any violent sporting event. And then there’s the outright weird Amazons vs. Pygmies battle, which the spectators treat as comedy, even though it has just as much blood and death as the other gladiatorial contests. (The “pygmies” appear to be white little people in bad makeup.)
The acting is good, though still in the “just out of silents” way that less experienced viewers may find odd. Charles Laughton is clearly having a ball as the self-indulgent but easily swayed Nero. Fredric March has a tougher role as Marcus, who doesn’t quite understand this Christianity thing, and has a rather off-putting way of courtship (he does the “hem the woman in to keep her from escaping” thing some women I know really hate), but is trying to not frighten Mercia away.
You may notice a distinct resemblance to the plot of Quo Vadis, which the original play version apparently borrowed large chunks of. This being a Cecil B. DeMille movie, there’s plenty of spectacle, and some really obvious Cross symbolism.
If you liked the 1956 version of The Ten Commandments and want to see some more Cecil B. DeMille, this is a good place to start. (Make sure you get the restored version with the milk bath scene.)
