The Sign of the Cross

From Cecil B. DeMille, the legendary director of Cleopatra, Reap the Wild Wind, Samson and Delilah and The Ten Commandments, comes this classic and turbulent biblical tale starring screen greats Fredric March (The Eagle and the Hawk), Claudette Colbert (Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife) and Charles Laughton (Witness for the Prosecution). Ancient Rome comes to life on a grand scale in the epic spectacular The Sign of the Cross. In the year 64 A.D., the corrupt and maniacal Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar (Laughton) torches the city so he can blame the ensuing destruction on the unsuspecting Christians. Meanwhile, Roman Prefect Marcus Superbus (March) falls for an innocent and beautiful Christian maiden, Mercia (Elissa Landi, The Count of Monte Cristo). When the seductive and wicked Empress Poppaea (Colbert) learns that she has a romantic rival for Marcus’s attentions, she conspires with Nero to send all Christians to a chilling death. Filled with some of the most outrageous and breathtaking scenes ever filmed, including the infamous “milk bath,” this pre-Code classic is a dynamic testament to DeMille’s visionary style. The great Karl Struss (Sunrise) received an Oscar® nomination for his stunning cinematography.