The Sign of the Cross (1932)

Regista:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writers:

Wilson Barrett (play)
Waldemar Young (screenplay) ...
(ancora)

Data di uscita:

10 febbraio 1933 (USA)

Genere:

Drama | History

Slogan:

A picture which will proudly lead all the entertainments the world has ever seen

Plot:

After burning Rome, Emperor Nero decides to blame the Christians, and issues the edict that they are all to be caught and sent to the arena...

Plot Keywords:

Death | Animal Attack | Rome | Arena | Persecution

Premi:

Nominated for Oscar.

Recensioni degli utenti:

In One Word: Shocking!

Cast

Fredric March	...	Marcus Superbus
Elissa Landi	...	Mercia
Claudette Colbert	...	Empress Poppaea
Charles Laughton	...	Emperor Nero
Ian Keith	...	Tigellinus
Arthur Hohl	...	Titus
Harry Beresford	...	Favius
Tommy Conlon	...	Stephan
Ferdinand Gottschalk	...	Glabrio
Vivian Tobin	...	Dacia
William V. Mong	...	Licinius
Joyzelle Joyner	...	Ancaria (as Joyzelle)
Richard Alexander	...	Viturius
Nat Pendleton	...	Strabo
Clarence Burton	...	Servillius
Harold Healy	...	Tybul
Robert Seiter	...	Philodemus (as Robert Manning)
Charles Middleton	...	Tyros
resto del cast in ordine alfabetico:
Joel Allen	...	Bombadier - 1944 Re-Release Prologue (uncredited)
Mischa Auer	...	Christian in Dungeon (uncredited)
Lionel Belmore	...	Bettor of 300 Silver (uncredited)
True Boardman	...	Slave of Nero (uncredited)
Marjorie Bonner	...	Roman Woman (uncredited)
Joe Bonomo	...	Mute Giant (uncredited)
Henry Brandon	...	Spectator at Colosseum (uncredited)
George Bruggeman	...	Slave of Nero (uncredited)
Horace B. Carpenter	...	(uncredited)
John Carradine	...	Christian Martyr Saying "Victory" / Roman citizen outside of Colisseum / Gladiator saying 'We who are about to die.' (uncredited)
Lane Chandler	...	Christian in Chains (uncredited)
Ruth Clifford	...	Christian Mother at Meeting (uncredited)
William Forrest	...	Colonel Hugh Mason - 1944 Prologue (uncredited)
Wynne Gibson	...	Extra at Orgy (uncredited)
Dorothy Granger	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Carol Holloway	...	(uncredited)
John James	...	Lieutenant Herb Hanson - 1944 Re-Release Prologue (uncredited)
Otto Lederer	...	(uncredited)
Lillian Leighton	...	Woman Getting Gold for Cup (uncredited)
Edward LeSaint	...	Enthusiastic Spectator (uncredited)
Wilfred Lucas	...	(uncredited)
James Millican	...	Captain Kevin Driscoll - 1944 Re-Release Prologue (uncredited)
Gertrude Norman	...	Christian (uncredited)
Wedgwood Nowell	...	Man Accepting 300 Silver Bet (uncredited)
Dave O'Brien	...	Christian on Stairway (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Man Who Heard Lions All Morning (uncredited)
Hal Price	...	Spectator (uncredited)
Sally Rand	...	Crocodiles' Victim (uncredited)
Tom Ricketts	...	Sleeping Spectator (uncredited)
Stanley Ridges	...	Chaplain Lloyd - 1944 Re-Release Prologue (uncredited)
Angelo Rossitto	...	Pygmy (uncredited)
Ynez Seabury	...	Little Girl (uncredited)
Arthur Shields	...	Chaplain Costello - 1944 Re-Release Prologue (uncredited)
Jerome Storm	...	(uncredited)
Kent Taylor	...	Romantic Spectator (uncredited)
Oliver Thorndike	...	Lieutenant Robert Hammond - 1944 Re-Release Prologue (uncredited)
Tom Tully	...	Hoboken - 1944 Re-Release Prologue (uncredited)
Florence Turner	...	Christian (uncredited)
Ethel Wales	...	Complaining Wife (uncredited)

Regia di
Cecil B. DeMille		(as Cecil B. De Mille)

Scritto da
Wilson Barrett		(play)
Waldemar Young		(screenplay) and
Sidney Buchman		(screenplay)
Dudley Nichols		1944 prologue (uncredited)
Henryk Sienkiewicz		novel "Quo Vadis" (uncredited source)

Prodotto da
Cecil B. DeMille	....	producer (as Cecil B. De Mille)

Musiche originali di
Rudolph G. Kopp
Jay Chernis		(uncredited)
Paul Marquardt		(uncredited)
Milan Roder		(uncredited)

Fotografia di
Karl Struss		(photographed by)

Montaggio di
Anne Bauchens		(uncredited)

Architetto-scenografo
Mitchell Leisen		(uncredited)

Costumi di
Mitchell Leisen

Aiuto regista
Mitchell Leisen	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Edward Salven	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Mitchell Leisen	....	art director: 1944 prologue (uncredited)

Sonoro
Harry Lindgren	....	sound engineer (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
George T. Clemens	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Otto Dyar	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
William E. Thomas	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Nat W. Finston	....	music supervisor (uncredited)

Altro personale
Chester Seay	....	archery instructor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (as Paramount Publix Corporation)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1932) (USA) (theatrical) (as Paramount Publix Corporation)
• Paramount (1933) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1944) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release) (edited)
• MCA/Universal Pictures (1958) (USA) (TV)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Alias:

Segno della croce, Il (Italy) [it]

Durata:

122 min (without intermission)

Nazionalità:

USA

Lingua:

Inglese

Colore:

Bianco e nero

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sonoro:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Divieti:

Norway:16 (1947) | West Germany:16 (f) | USA:Approved (PCA #1581-R, 23 September 1935 for re-release) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Luoghi delle riprese:

Fresno, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Curiosità:

The prologue for the 1944 re-release was completed 25 March 1944 at a cost of $100,000 - $125,000.

Errori:

Continuity: When the boxers are fighting with the spiked gloves, the loser gets punched in the face. He is shown with scars on his face and spits blood onto his chest. In the next shot (from a slightly different angle) the scars are there but the blood on his chest is gone.

Citazioni:

[the Empress, soaking naked in a tub of ass's milk and calling to her handmaiden]
Poppaea: Dacia, you're a butterfly with the sting of a wasp. Take off your clothes. Get in here and tell me all about it.

Movie Connections:

Citato in The Best of Sex and Violence (1981)

Colonna sonora:

Christian Hymn No.1

In One Word: Shocking!

This was a powerful and shocking movie, at least for people who see a lot of classic films, including movies from the '30s. I haven't seen this in quite a while but I never forgot seeing a nude Claudette Colbert taking a milk bath!

However, seeing Christians persecuted was not entertaining to me. Although there is no gore, it's pretty brutal to almost see lions eating people, elephants crushing them, alligators ripping them apart, gladiators being speared, stabbed, torn up, etc., etc. And some wonder why a morals' code was instituted several years later?! I'm sure there were some outcries after this was released.

The Christians, led by Elissa Landi, are inspiring in their bravery in the midst of all this persecution. One wonders how - in real life - they did it. In addition to the torture, violent scenes, this movie was shocking in its day for the nudity. For a classic film, to see all these bare breasts is indeed shocking.

Regarding other actors, Charles Laughton was convincing as the sick, sadistic "Nero" but Frederic March looked more like a silent film star with all the eye makeup.

Of a final note, it was interesting to see an "intermission" in this film, considering it's just two hours, but that was a long time for a film in 1932.