Source: Chris Matthew Sciabarra
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
“DeMille completed his early Biblical trilogy with The Sign of the Cross in 1932, which takes place during Emperor Nero’s persecution of the Christians. The film has some parallels to Sienkiewicz’s novel, Quo Vadis. But it ran into some trouble in 1934 when the Motion Picture Production Code (otherwise known as the Hays Code) began cracking down on content deemed ‘unacceptable.’ With a naked Claudette Colbert bathing in a tub of milk and a problematic ‘lesbian’ dance scene, the film was recut when it was rereleased in 1938. … DeMille was keenly aware that the Bible had enough salacious content to satisfy the most prurient interests. His ability to delicately balance the sacred and the profane in the dramatization of timeless Biblical stories was one of the keys to the success of these epics. He often observed: ‘What else has two thousand years’ advance publicity?'” (04/15/25)