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The Sign of the Cross

The Sign of the Cross (1932)

Brief Nudity

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Review

Following cinema’s original The Ten Commandments (1923) and The King of Kings (1927), American showman Cecil B. DeMille concluded his trilogy of religious pre-Code epics with The Sign of the Cross (1932). Based on Wilson Barrett’s 1895 play, the story takes place in AD 64 when fire-loving fiddler Emperor Nero (Charles Laughton) chooses a few innocent Christians to blame for the flaming destruction of Rome. As he’s about to send the said offenders to a purrfect catfight in the lion’s den, military official Marcus Superbus (Fredric March) falls in love with Mercia (Elissa Landi), the stepdaughter of one of the accused. With hopes of emancipating the eyefuls between Merica’s arms, Marcus asks her to marry him and renounce her religion. But not before he throws a party to introduce Mercia to exotic dancer Ancaria (Joyzelle Joyner). One wonders what he had in mind. But instead of creating an erotic atmosphere via Ancaria’s lesbian “Dance of the Naked Moon” performance, the Christians kill the mood by singing Holy songs. Of course, they weren’t the only killjoys. Later, when Hollywood’s Motion Picture Production Code was enforced in 1934, the dance was cut from the film. At least audiences could still enjoy Empress Poppaea (Claudette Colbert) adding her sexiness to the screen. Indeed, she bathes her alabaster rack in asses’ milk 19 minutes into the movie. Breast of all, Ms. Colbert’s nips surface just a bit. It may not be the sign of the cross, but it’s a sign of something overwhelming under the water!