THE SIGN OF THE CROSS (1932)

The archetypal DeMille concoction of sex and religion, not as fun or as spectacular as his later THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, but much naughtier, filled with flesh and sadism and decadence. Set in 64 A.D., the movie opens with Charles Laughton lolling about like a huge baby, fiddling while Rome burns (and, by implication, fiddling around with some young paramours, including at least one scantily clad boy). The rest of the film is concerned with the clash between the powerful pagans (like Laughton and his wife, Claudette Colbert) and the oppressed Christians (like the lovely and pious Elissa Landi). Marcus, the Prefect of Rome (Fredric March) is loyal to the state until he gets hot and bothered by Landi and is persuaded that Christians are people, too. Alas, March cannot stop the feeding of the Christians to the lions, so he winds up throwing in with them and getting sacrificed with Landi in the final arena slaughter. Although there are lots of titillating scenes of almost-naked women and lusty men, the overall mood of the movie is somewhat depressing. The Christians, doomed from the start, seem too passive; the decadent Romans are having fun but none of them except March are sympathetic. This is a movie to see for its parade of set pieces: Colbert flashing a bit of nipple in a bath of cow's milk; a lesbian seduction dance by Joyzelle Joyner (which is interrupted by praying Christians, perhaps an influence on Steven Spielberg in a similar scene in THE COLOR PURPLE); the torture and carnage in the arena. Nat Pendleton has a small role as a man who hunts Christians for money; Ian Keith is one of Nero's troublemakers, spreading rumors that the Christians started Nero's fire; Tommy Conlon has a nice bit as a young Christian who accidentally betrays his fellows. Definitely worth at least one viewing. [TCM]