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    • Quick Hits: Short Takes on Recent Viewing >
      • Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache
      • Elevator to the Gallows ('58)
      • Days of Heaven
      • Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
      • Incindies (2010)
      • In the Mood For Love (2000)
      • Last Picture Show Teaser Intro
      • Le Silence De La Mer ('49)
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    • The 1910's >
      • The Lubitsch German Silents
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      • The Odessa Steps Sequence as Continuing Film History
      • Sunrise (1927)
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    • The 1930's >
      • Becky Sharp (1935)
      • Blonde Crazy
      • Bombshell ('33)
      • The Cheat
      • The Conquerors
      • The Crowd Roars
      • The Divorcee
      • Frank Capra & Barbara Stanwyck: The Evolution of a Romance
      • Heroes for Sale
      • The Invisible Man (1933)
      • L'Atalante (1934)
      • Let Us Be Gay
      • My Man Godfrey
      • No Man of Her Own (1932)
      • Platinum Blonde ('31)
      • Reckless ('35)
      • The Sign of the Cross (1932)
      • The Sin of Nora Moran (1932)
      • True Confession ('37)
      • Virtue ('32)
      • The Women
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      • Casablanca (1942)
      • The Story of Citizen Kane
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      • Double indemnity
      • Jean Arthur in A Foreign Affair
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      • Nightmare Alley
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      • Remember the Night ('40)
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      • The Set-Up ('49)
      • They Won't Believe Me (1947)
      • The Third Man
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      • The Asphalt Jungle Secret Cinema Intro
      • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ('58) Intro
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      • The Misfits ('61)
      • The Umbrellas of Cherbourg/La La Land
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The Sign of the Cross ('32)

The Sign of the Cross

Directed by: Cecil B. DeMille
Starring:  Claudette Colbert, Fredric March, Charles Laughton, Elissa Landi
Studio:  Paramount
IMDB Rating:  8

 Only legendary director Cecil B. DeMille could create a performance that Fredic March would say “She was a hot woman in it-a hot, hot woman! When she worked herself up, she put Monroe, Harlow, Gardner Novak, all of them, in the shade” (Quirk, p. 52).  March was describing Claudette Colbert playing Poppaea, Nero’s wife, in DeMille’s classic Pre-Code drama The Sign of the Cross (’32). Her sexy, smart & manipulative turn as the Roman emperor’s wife elevates the sexual tension & helps paint the Roman’s as wonton & lascivious, in stark contract to the Christian purity that DeMille hoped would save the film from censorship.  Colbert’s costumes alone could have been enough to turn the tide towards The Production Code’s enforcement (censorship), but it’s the costume Colbert didn’t wear that often gets the most attention when The Sign of the Cross comes up.  Her asses milk bath completely naked is a scene for the Pre-Code ages, but the part itself could have played by someone else, if not for DeMille’s steadfast belief in Colbert’s talent & her willingness to play against the nicer, more gentile parts she was known for. In fact, DeMille’s initial offer to Colbert perfectly sums up her character & the performance; asking “how would you like to play the wickedest woman in the world?” Strangely enough, it was DMille who really couldn’t afford to be so cheeky, because he was fighting for his professional life while preparing The Sign of the Cross. ​
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​The studio he had helped found, Paramount, after having dismissed him several years earlier, was in dire financial straits & DeMille was offered the job, only if he covered half of a very small budget & took an even smaller salary.  Thankfully, DeMille’s investment in himself & his trust in recasting Colbert’s on-screen personae paid enormous dividends, both initially in the stellar box office returns for Sign of the Cross, and in creating one of the Pre-Code eras most iconic films.
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​While the film was widely condemned by religious groups, who felt the storyline of Christian suffering in Rome was a mere pretext to show skin, sex & violence, it is often cited as the turning point that led to the enforcement of the Production Code some 2 years later.  Costume & set designer Mitchell Leisen went out of his way to create contrasts between the Christians and the Romans; plain & humble for the Christians, lavish & pretentious for the Romans.  He wasn’t fooling anyone.  Describing the mood of the film as “delicious debauchery,” Leisen made plain his designs for Colbert’s costumes by saying “I slit her skirts right up to the hip to show her marvelous legs.  She didn’t have a stich on underneath” (Viera, p. 106). 
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​Aside from Poppaea’s nude swim, 2 additional scenes inflamed the religious groups, the so-called “lesbian dance” and the prolonged exhibition at the coliseum. As was the case with many directors & producers during the Pre-Code Era, DeMille was able to manipulate the reception of both scenes to escape censorship.  The Dance of the Naked Moon, performed alluringly by a character described as “the most wicked and talented woman in Rome,” is a perfect example of DeMille skirting censors by both playing on his prestigious reputation, as well as his attention to detail.  Citing DeMille’s desire to show the blatant conflict between the Romans & the Christians, while maintaining the utmost period detail in costuming & décor, censors noted that the dance was perfectly suitable under the Code. The dance itself, positioned as the centerpiece or prelude to a Roman orgy, places the chaste Christian maiden, Mercia (Ellsa Landi) at the literal mercy of the seductive Ancaria (Joyzelle Joyner) as she writhes & shimmies against her, at one point “executing a Kootch Movement” that was noted by censors, but allowed to stay in the final print.
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​ Similarly, the prolonged scenes of violence, bestiality, & mayhem that play out at the coliseum were shown largely as shot, with a minor cut for pacing (alligators eating Christians). Scene after scene of gladiatorial combat, including spear impalement, decapitation & gruesome deaths were only outdone by an elephant crushing a man & a gorilla advancing towards a naked & tied up maiden, with obvious mischief in his eyes.  The sheer volume of depravity would have been enough to overwhelm censors, let alone the paying audience, but once again DeMille’s stature allowed most of his images to slide through.
 
Released as it was at the lowest point of the depression, the film was an overwhelming box office smash, in large part because of the outrageous spectacle DeMille & Leisen crafted. It signaled DeMille’s return to glory, Colbert’s ascension to super stardom & put profits in the Paramount coffers, but it also forged a short-term bond between director & star that would last another 2 pictures.
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​Sources
Cecil B. DeMille:  The Art of the Hollywood Epic.  Cecilia DeMille & Mark A. Vieira.  Running Press.  2014.
Sin in Soft Focus: Pre-Code Hollywood.  Mark A. Vieira.  Abrams. 1999.
Claudette Colbert:  An Illustrated Biography.  Lawrence T. Quirk.  Crown Publishers, Inc.  1985.
Empire of Dreams:  The Epic Life of Cecil B. DeMille.  Scott Eyman.  Simon & Schuster.  2010.
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  • Home
  • Top 10 Lists
    • My Top 10 Favorite Movies
    • Top 10 Heist Movies
    • Top 10 Neo-Noir Films
    • The Top 10 Films of the Troubles (1969-1998) >
      • The Troubles Selected Timeline
    • Top 10 Films from 2001
    • Director Top 10's >
      • Top 10 Film Noir Directors
      • Top 10 Coen Brothers Films
      • Top 10 John Ford Films
      • Top 10 Samuel Fuller Films
      • Top 10 Alfred Hitchcock Films
      • Top 10 John Huston Films
      • Top 10 Fritz Lang Films (American)
      • Val Lewton Top 10
      • Top 10 Ernst Lubitsch Films
      • Top 10 Jean-Pierre Melville Films
      • Top 10 Nicholas Ray Films
      • Top 10 Preston Sturges Films
      • Top 10 Robert Siodmak Films
      • Top 10 William Wellman Films
      • Top 10 Billy Wilder Films
    • Actor/Actress Top 10's >
      • Top 10 Joan Blondell Movies
      • Top 10 Clark Gable Movies
      • Top 10 Ava Gardner Films
      • Top 10 Gloria Grahame Films
      • Top 10 Jean Harlow Movies
      • Top 10 Miriam Hopkins Films
      • Top 10 Grace Kelly Films
      • Top 10 Burt Lancaster Films
      • Top 10 Carole Lombard Movies
      • Top 10 Myrna Loy Films
      • Top 10 Marilyn Monroe Films
      • Top 10 Robert Mitchum Noir Movies
      • Top 10 Paul Newman Films
      • Top 10 Robert Ryan Movies
      • Top 10 Norma Shearer Movies
      • Top 10 Barbara Stanwyck Films
    • Top 10 Noir Films (Classic Era)
    • Top 10 Pre-Code Films
    • Top 10 Actresses of the 1930's
  • Reviews
    • Quick Hits: Short Takes on Recent Viewing >
      • Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache
      • Elevator to the Gallows ('58)
      • Days of Heaven
      • Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
      • Incindies (2010)
      • In the Mood For Love (2000)
      • Last Picture Show Teaser Intro
      • Le Silence De La Mer ('49)
      • The Princess Bride ('87) Intro
      • Pulp Fiction ('94) Intro
    • The 1910's >
      • The Lubitsch German Silents
    • The 1920's >
      • The Odessa Steps Sequence as Continuing Film History
      • Sunrise (1927)
      • Wild Orchids ('29)
    • The 1930's >
      • Becky Sharp (1935)
      • Blonde Crazy
      • Bombshell ('33)
      • The Cheat
      • The Conquerors
      • The Crowd Roars
      • The Divorcee
      • Frank Capra & Barbara Stanwyck: The Evolution of a Romance
      • Heroes for Sale
      • The Invisible Man (1933)
      • L'Atalante (1934)
      • Let Us Be Gay
      • My Man Godfrey
      • No Man of Her Own (1932)
      • Platinum Blonde ('31)
      • Reckless ('35)
      • The Sign of the Cross (1932)
      • The Sin of Nora Moran (1932)
      • True Confession ('37)
      • Virtue ('32)
      • The Women
    • The 1940's >
      • Casablanca (1942)
      • The Story of Citizen Kane
      • Criss Cross (1949)
      • Double indemnity
      • Jean Arthur in A Foreign Affair
      • The Killers 1946 & 1964 Comparison
      • The Maltese Falcon Intro
      • Moonrise (1948)
      • My Gal Sal (1942)
      • Nightmare Alley
      • Notorious Intro ('46)
      • Overlooked Christmas Movies of the 1940's
      • Pursued (1947)
      • Remember the Night ('40)
      • The Red Shoes (1948)
      • The Set-Up ('49)
      • They Won't Believe Me (1947)
      • The Third Man
    • The 1950's >
      • The Asphalt Jungle Secret Cinema Intro
      • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ('58) Intro
      • The Crimson Kimono (1959)
      • A Face in the Crowd (1957)
      • In a Lonely Place
      • A Kiss Before Dying (1956)
      • Mogambo ('53)
      • Niagara (1953)
      • The Night of The Hunter ('55)
      • Pushover Noir City
      • Rear Window (1954)
      • Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
      • Red Dust ('32 vs Mogambo ('53)
      • The Searchers ('56)
      • Singin' in the Rain Introduction
      • Some Like It Hot ('59) >
        • Some Like it Hot Intro (Beyond the Bay)
    • The 1960's >
      • The April Fools (1969)
      • Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
      • Cape Fear ('62)
      • Cool Hand Luke (1967) Intro
      • Dr Strangelove Intro
      • For a Few Dollars More (1965)
      • Fistful of Dollars (1964)
      • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1968)
      • The Hustler ('61) Intro
      • The Man With No Name Trilogy
      • The Misfits ('61)
      • The Umbrellas of Cherbourg/La La Land
    • The 1970's >
      • Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)
      • American Graffiti Introduction
      • Chinatown Introduction
      • The Friends of Eddie Coyle ('73)
      • Jaws Intro
    • The 1980's >
      • Blood Simple ('84)
      • A Christmas Story Intro
      • Scarface (1983)
    • The 1990's >
      • The General (1998)
    • 2000's >
      • Belfast (2021)
      • Blonde (2022)
      • Hunger (2008)
      • In Bruges (2008)
      • Joy Division
      • Mank (2020)
      • No Man's Land (2001)
      • Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
      • Wall-E
      • Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001)
      • The Top 10 Films I watched in 2020
  • Artists
    • Actors/Actresses >
      • Joan Blondell
      • Faye Dunaway: 1967-1976
      • The Noir Villainy of Dan Duryea
      • Clark Gable Bio
      • Jean Harlow Bio
      • Veronica Lake
      • Norma Shearer
    • Directors/Producers/Cinematographers >
      • Founders Series: Alice Guy-Blache
      • John Alton
      • Joan Harrison-Producer/Writer
      • Hitchcock & Cary Grant
      • William Wellman
    • Books >
      • Book Reviews >
        • Book Review: Clark Gable by D. Bret
      • Pre-Code
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      • Studio Head Bios
      • Hollywood History
    • Studio
  • Resources
    • Sight & Sound Top 100 2022
    • NOTES >
      • American Graffiti Notes
      • Anatomy of a Murder Notes
      • The Asphalt Jungle Outline
      • Breakfast Club Notes
      • Citizen Kane Notes
      • It's A Wonderful Life Notes
      • Rebel Without a Cause Notes
      • Singin' in the Rain Notes
    • CMBA Interview/Profile
    • Bay Cinema Society Press
    • Hollywood History >
      • Production Code
      • Film Noir
  • Video Introductions
    • Video Introductions
  • Last Picture Show Notes
  • Paul Verhoeven