Elissa Landi

Austrian-born actress and writer Elissa Landi (1904–1948) was (falsely) rumoured to be a descendant of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. During the 1920s, she appeared in British, French, and German films before travelling to the United States. In Hollywood, she became a popular star of the 1930s.


French postcard by Editions et Publications Cinématographiques, no. 21. Photo: Fox Film USA.


Dutch postcard, no. 92. Photo: Fox. Sent by mail in 1932.


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. 533b. Photo: Paramount.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 176/12. Photo: Paramount. Elissa Landi in the American epic The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille, 1932), based on the original 1895 play by Wilson Barrett.


Italian postcard by NMM, Milano.

Photogenic beauty

Elissa Landi was born Elisabeth Marie Christine Kühnelt in Venice, Italy, in 1904. She was the daughter of an Austrian military officer and the stepdaughter of an Italian nobleman and she was a descendant of Elizabeth of Bavaria, wife of the Emperor Franz Josef of Austria and better known as Sissi, according to her mother in a book which she published in 1914.

This information was false. Marlene Pilaete at La Collectionneuse researched Landi's history and discovered new facts: "She was not Italian-born. In fact, her birth certificate states that she was born on the 6th of December 1904 in Hart, Austria and not in Venice. Her birth certificate also states that she was born Maria Christina Emilia Antonia Carolina Francisca Anna Kühnelt. As you can see, there is no trace of the first name 'Elisabeth'. Regarding her mother, who claimed to be a daughter of Sissi and to be born in France in 1882, her birth certificate plainly states that she was born in Vienna in 1879 from Jewish parents."

Elissa was raised in Austria and later she was privately educated in England and Canada. Her first ambition was to be a writer, and she wrote her first novel at the age of twenty. She took up the stage merely as a means to an end. She had always wanted to be a novelist and playwright, but she found the technique of the theatre a little difficult, so to overcome this joined a repertory company.

She had her breakthrough with the 1924 London stage production 'The Storm'. The play lasted for five months and she received rave reviews for her performances. This led to meaty leads in 'Lavender Ladies' (1924) and other plays. Film producers took notice of the photogenic beauty and Elissa starred in eight European films over the next two years.

Her first film was the British production London (Herbert Wilcox, 1926), starring Dorothy Gish. Other films were the working-class love story Underground (Anthony Asquith, 1928) and the Swedish production Synd/Sin (Gustaf Molander, 1928) opposite Gina Manès. Her career didn't impress critics, though, until she played Anthea Dane in The Price of Things (Elinor Glyn, 1930).


French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 2063. Photo: Paramount. Fredric March and Elissa Landi in the American epic film The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille, 1932).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 176/10. Photo: Paramount. Elissa Landi and Fredric March in The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille, 1932).


British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Universal. Paul Lukas and Elissa Landi in By Candlelight (James Whale, 1933).


British postcard in the Filmshots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Fox. Publicity still for The Warrior's Husband (Walter Lang, 1933) with David Manners.


British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Radio (RKO). Elissa Landi, Henry Stephenson and Francis Lederer in Man of Two Worlds (J. Walter Ruben, 1934). In the background J. Farrell MacDonald.

Headway in the USA

Elissa Landi felt that she would make more headway in the USA, so in 1931 she travelled to New York to star in a Broadway production of 'A Farewell to Arms', written by Ernest Hemingway. Although the play flopped, Hollywood sat up and took notice of the young star. She was signed to a contract by Fox Film Corporation, and she soon appeared in Body and Soul (Alfred Santell, 1931) opposite Charles Farrell, and in Wicked (Alan Dwan, 1931), opposite Victor McLaglen.

Next, she played the heroine in Cecil B. De Mille's biblical epic The Sign of the Cross (1932). Elissa's ethereal, virtuous performance as the early Christian heroine was overshadowed by Claudette Colbert who played the flashier role of the temptress Poppea. Completed in less than eight weeks, the film was a smash hit. Elissa scored again in the historical satire The Warrior's Husband (Walter Lang, 1933), about the intrigues and intricacies of the old Roman Empire.

Charming was her comedy By Candlelight (James Whale, 1933) about a butler (Paul Lukas) who pretends to be a Lord to seduce a great lady (Landi), who is actually a maid. Hal Erickson writes at AllMovie: "Based on a play by Siegfried Geyer, By Candlelight is chock full of delightfully double-entendre pre-code dialogue and dextrous directorial touches."

In 1934, Landi co-starred with Robert Donat in the box-office hit The Count of Monte Cristo (Rowland V. Lee, 1934). The next year saw her in an odd bit of casting as an Opera prima donna in Enter Madame (Elliott Nugent, 1935). The film follows the turbulent relationship between the Opera singer and a wealthy fan (Cary Grant) as her career frequently interferes with the quality of their off-again/on-again marriage. Then Landi's contract with Fox was abruptly cancelled in 1936 as a result of her refusal to accept a particular role. MGM signed her to a contract and after a couple of romantic dramas, she played the cousin of Myrna Loy in the very popular After the Thin Man (W.S. Van Dyke, 1936), the second film in the Thin Man series.

Her screen career came to an end in 1937. She spent her last acting years on Broadway save for an unexpected return before the cameras in the low-budget war film Corregidor (William Nigh, 1943) for Poverty Row Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). She became a naturalised US citizen in 1943, and dedicated herself to writing, producing six novels and a series of poems. After her debut at the age of twenty, she continued writing novels at the height of her movie fame. In 1948, Elissa Landi died of cancer in Kingston, New York, only 43 years old, and was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Newburyport, Massachusetts. She left behind her second husband, Curtiss Thomas, and their four-year-old daughter, Carolyn. Her first marriage was to John Cecil Lawrence (1928-1936; divorce). Elissa Landi has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to Motion Pictures, at 1611 Vine Street.


German collectors card in the 'Moderne Schönheitsgalerie' by Ross Verlag for Edelzigarette Kurmark, no 292 (of 300). Photo: Paramount.


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. 533. Photo: Dorothy Wilding.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5823/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Fox.


Dutch postcard. Sent by mail in 1934.


Belgian postcard by P.E. (Photo Edition), Brussels, no. 442. Photo: Paramount.


Italian postcard by B.F.F. Edit. (Casa Editr. Ballerini & Fratini, Firenze), no. 2950.


British postcard by Milton, no. 104. Photo: Paramount Pictures.


British postcard in the Colourgraph Series, London, no. C 185. Photo: Fox.


British postcard by Art Photo, no. 96. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 9248/1, 1935-1936. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Sources: Marlene Pilaete (La Collectionneuse - Page now defunct), Caroline Thomas (IMDb), Operator99 (Allure), Hal Erickson (AllMovie - Page now defunct), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

This post was last updated on 18 February 2025.

Five Filmshots by Film Weekly

The British magazine Film Weekly published an interesting postcard series: Filmshots. Four cards with scenes of a recent film. The series must have existed between ca. 1932 and 1934 and presents known and unknown American and British films of the early 1930s. An interesting period: Hollywood was still 'pre-code'. The Filmshots cards are simple: the pictures are in black and white and some basic credits are added: the (British) film title, the two main actors and the studio. At the backside, only the series title was printed: 'Filmshots by Film Weekly'. Recently I acquired five Filmshots that together show the range of the series.

By Candlelight (1933)

British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Universal. Paul Lukas and Elissa Landi in By Candlelight (James Whale, 1933).


British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Universal. Nils Asther and Esther Ralston in By Candlelight (James Whale, 1933).


British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Universal. Nils Asther, Paul Lukas and Esther Ralston in By Candlelight (James Whale, 1933).


British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Universal. Paul Lukas and Elissa Landi in By Candlelight (James Whale, 1933).

By Candlelight (James Whale, 1933) is one of the sophisticated pre-code films revolving around a series of mistaken identities and misrepresentations. It is an adaptation of the Austrian play, 'Bei Kerzenlicht', by writers Siegfried Geyer and Karl Farkas. Josef (Paul Lukas) is the valet for Count von Rommer (Nils Asther) and well trained in the philandering ways of his master. Mistaken for the Count by a maid, Marie (Elissa Landi), whom he thinks is an aristocrat, Josef shows her a merry time in the Count's Monte Carlo villa. Meanwhile, the Count escapes a situation with Countess von Rischenheim (Dorothy Revier), when her husband Count von Rischenheim (Lawrence Grant) makes an unscheduled appearance, by posing as the butler.

Director Robert Wyler had failed to make a satisfactory start with By Candlelight so Universal asked James Whale to continue the film. Whale took Ted Kent, his favourite cutter, and John Mescall as the camera director. Whale started the film over from the beginning. He filmed the script as it was for the most part, but he also made a game of it, putting in his own special tricks of the trade. Producer Carl Laemmle was very happy with the result. He liked the film himself, and it brought in good money just in the nick of time to help save the studio once more, adding some good revenue to the spectacular revenues from Whale's The Invisible Man which were then really piling up. Mark Waltz at IMDb: "this art-deco gem, a fast-moving, well-acted comedy of manners (or lack of...). Lukas, who up to that point was known in Hollywood as the leading man of many women's films, proves himself to be much more debonair than presented in the past. With Landi, he shares some great scenes on a train ride where they mingle with common folk at a town fair. Landi is good in a drunk scene, but its Lukas and Asther who get acting honors here. Whale does a great job with every single detail from the sets, photography, and unmannered performances that remain fresh today as they were in 1933." Hal Erickson at AllMovie: "By Candlelight is chock full of delightfully double-entendre pre-Code dialogue and dextrous directorial touches".

Man of Two Worlds (1934)

British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Radio (RKO). Steffi Duna and Francis Lederer in Man of Two Worlds (J. Walter Ruben, 1934).


British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Radio (RKO). Steffi Duna and Francis Lederer in Man of Two Worlds (J. Walter Ruben, 1934).


British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Radio (RKO). Francis Lederer in Man of Two Worlds (J. Walter Ruben, 1934).


British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Radio (RKO). Elissa Landi, Henry Stephenson and Francis Lederer in Man of Two Worlds (J. Walter Ruben, 1934). In the background J. Farrell MacDonald.

With the success of Robert Flaherty's Nanook of the North (1922), Hollywood tried to replicate the box office by using Eskimo themes. In Man of Two Worlds (J. Walter Ruben, 1934) a British explorer (Henry Stephenson) in the Arctic hires a local Eskimo as an assistant. The earnest but unsophisticated young man called Aigo (Francis Lederer) happens to see a photograph of the explorer's beautiful daughter and falls in love with her. Soon afterward a medical emergency results in his being flown to London for treatment, where he finally meets the girl he has longed for. Once in Britain, Aigo is treated as a curiosity--like some sort of simple-minded thing instead of a person. He likes what he sees--particularly Sir Basil's daughter. In his mind, he's envisioned that she is destined to be his--and, of course, he's setting himself up for disappointment. No one seems to believe, including the girl, that Aigo has normal human desires and urges. The film was a box office disappointment for RKO.

Martin Hafer at IMDb: "Man of Two Worlds is the sort of film that no one would make today. It's very much a relic of the early 20th century and influenced by the real-life story of Minik, a native of Greenland brought back to Europe as a cultural curiosity--and who ended up wasting away and dying away from his native land. (...) Throughout this film, Aigo is treated in an amazingly patronizing fashion. He is some silly, childish savage--sort of like Tarzan but with even less intellect. Offensive? Yes, but also pretty dumb, as ANYONE with even average intelligence would recognize that he is a man and not a thing!" Bob Lipton at IMDb: "Modern attitudes towards different cultures may have changed in the seventy-five years since this movie came out, but it still is a good story and the modern viewer can, if he chooses, look upon it as an anthropological record of its own, a record of how the culture of Hollywood viewed other cultures back in its heyday." Danny at Pre-code.com: "You can tell Man of Two Worlds had a nice budget, though. The film makes use of a real polar bear for its animal scenes, and though on a sound stage, the sets are expansive and good looking. The scenes that take place in England are also less confined to interiors, making it feel freer and more visceral, something that Aigo himself is surely feeling as well. But really, the central performance in this film is so utterly awful and irredeemable, it’s a pain to even try and scrounge up compliments for it. Lacking a pulpy tone or a trace of nuance, Man of Two Worlds is creaky and laughable, an ‘important’ picture whose moral and central performances are now offensive and outdated. It’s a rare movie to find, and here’s my suggestion: don’t find it."

Luxury Liner (1933)

British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Paramount. Alice White and Henry Wadsworth in Luxury Liner (Lothar Mendes, 1933).


British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Paramount. Verree Teasdale and Frank Morgan in Luxury Liner (Lothar Mendes, 1933). On the card, the first name of Teasdale is written wrong.


British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Paramount. Zita Johann and George Brent in Luxury Liner (Lothar Mendes, 1933).


British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Paramount. Alice White in Luxury Liner (Lothar Mendes, 1933).

Luxury Liner (Lothar Mendes, 1933) is a kind of Grand Hotel (Edmund Goulding, 1932), a multi-story drama but now on the high seas. Based on a 1932 novel by Gina Kaus, it is an entertaining and multifaceted look into the various classes of cruise liner society with a very talented cast. The pre-code drama includes birth and death, lots of sexual innuendoes and a combination of comedy that drives the plot and drama that is often poignant. As the film begins the German-American cruise ship Germania is setting sail from Bremen to New York, with a stop in Cherbourg. Dr. Thomas Bernard (George Brent) begs a friend to find him a place aboard the ship, as his wife (Vivienne Osborne) has just left him and is supposed to be aboard. The Captain makes Bernard the ship's doctor and he will have to attend to 1001 different problems as they arise. Miss Morgan (Zita Johann) is the ship's nurse who never dates. Milli Stern (Alice White) is a third-class passenger who desperately wants to be in first class. Edward Thorndyke (C. Aubrey Smith) is a former millionaire who's just been released from jail, and millionaire Alex Stevenson (Frank Morgan) has Dr. Bernard's ex with him but wants to romance an opera singer. While Dr. Bernard fights to get his wife back, Milli comes up with a scheme to make money in the stock market. Of course, there is a lot of drama and fighting and a little romance.

Some of the IMDb reviewers liked the film: "The Paramount gloss is at its peak here." and "Alice White gives a delightful funny performance as a gold-digger and the film is worth watching just to see her." However, Mordaunt Hall, critic for The New York Times in 1933, was unimpressed, writing, "neither the story nor the dialogue live up to expectations. ... Mr. Mendes was evidently not inspired by the script furnished him and he fails to give more than a haphazard conception of the movement of the vessel, after the first quarter of the film. The attempt at levity is feeble and the clock-work-like manipulation of the happenings is often rather wearying." Hall felt there were "one or two competent performances by the principals" (C. Aubrey Smith, Zita Johann and Vivienne Osborne), but thought that Frank Morgan was miscast and George Brent was "not at his best."

Pick-up (1933)

British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Paramount. Sylvia Sidney and George Raft in Pick-up (Marion Gering, 1933).


British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Paramount. Sylvia Sidney and George Raft in Pick-up (Marion Gering, 1933).


British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Paramount. Sylvia Sidney and George Raft in Pick-up (Marion Gering, 1933).


British postcard in the Film Shots series by Film Weekly. Photo: Paramount. Sylvia Sidney and George Raft in Pick-up (Marion Gering, 1933).

At one stage Pick-up (Marion Gering, 1933) was going to star Carole Lombard and Gary Cooper. Eventually, Sylvia Sidney and George Raft were cast, Raft replacing Cooper, who had been held up making a film at MGM. In the script by Viña Delmar, based on her own magazine serial, the scheme of a pair of married con artists (Sylvia Sidney and William Harrigan) goes awry when their victim dies, and they are both caught and imprisoned. When she gets out of prison after a two-year sentence, she tries to put her life back together. Harrigan still has three years to go. On a rainy night, Sidney bumps into George Raft, who plays an underachieving cab driver who is 'satisfied' with his low-rent life. He first thinks she's a prostitute, but after some hesitation, he invites her home. John Howard Reid at IMDb: "At this point, the movie should have stopped (...) between the noirish start and emotive conclusion of this film, we are treated to an irrelevant sub-plot about a depraved but super-lovely and filthy rich temptress (scorchingly played by Lillian Bond) who sinks her fangs into Raft who, it turns out, is a sucker for rich and ritzy playgirls. Of course, this story allows Sidney to go through her patented pained and injured shtick (...) It seems to take forever for Harrigan to escape from jail and the main plot to start moving again. But when it does, it's a wow and certainly well worth waiting for!"

Bob Lipton at IMDb: "Sylvia Sidney was Paramount's low-class weeper star in this period, with a lower-class accent and a beautiful face that could suffer stoically or break out in helpless tears just when the plot demanded it. In this one, she has just gotten out of prison because she and her husband were involved in a badger game and one of their victims killed himself. Her husband is still in jail and she falls in with George Raft, whose hair is always perfect. They encounter various problems that keep getting worse and worse until they reach the point where you're ready to laugh - except that Miss Sidney is so perfect in these roles, that you simply want to hug her. George Raft is adequate and for those of you who like such thing, Charles Middleton, best known as Emperor Ming of Mongo is on hand." The film was a box office hit.

The Private Life of Henry VIII. (1933)

British postcard in the Filmshots series by Film Weekly. Photo: London Films. Merle Oberon in The Private Life of Henry VIII. (Alexander Korda, 1933).


British postcard in the Filmshots series by Film Weekly. Photo: London Films. Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester in The Private Life of Henry VIII. (Alexander Korda, 1933).


British postcard in the Filmshots series by Film Weekly. Photo: London Films. Charles Laughton and Binnie Barnes in The Private Life of Henry VIII. (Alexander Korda, 1933).


British postcard in the Filmshots series by Film Weekly. Photo: London Films. Charles Laughton and Everley Gregg in The Private Life of Henry VIII. (Alexander Korda, 1933).

The Private Life of Henry VIII. (Alexander Korda, 1933) is a rollicking historical biopic of the notorious love-life of Britain's most married monarch, Henry VIII. As the opening credits explain: "Henry VIII had six wives. Catherine of Aragon was the first; but her story is of no particular interest - she was a respectable woman-so Henry divorced her. He then married Anne Boleyn. This marriage also was a failure-but not for the same reason." Hungarian-born director Alexander Korda directed this British classic, based on a script and story by Lajos Biró (also from Hungary) and Arthur Wimperis, written for London Film Productions, Korda's production company. The film features a bravura performance by the young Charles Laughton as Henry. Of course, some historical cuts needed to be made for the 96-minute long film. So the film begins in May 1536, 20 years into King Henry's reign. His first wife Katherine Of Aragon is sidestepped completely and we only see her successor, the interesting and charismatic Anne Boleyn (Merle Oberon), as she readies herself for her beheading. Lejink at IMDb: "There's much ribald humour, quite racy for the time, in the utterings of the hoi-polloi at the queens' executions and amongst the King's serving staff, while the encounter with the exceeding ugly Anne Of Cleves (Elsa Lanchester) is played for laughs pretty much from the start." The direction is fast-moving and while telescoping a lot of history into its short running time, does so with wit and flair.

The Private Life of Henry VIII. (Alexander Korda, 1933) was the first British production to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, but it did not win this Oscar. However, it was still the first non-Hollywood film to win an Academy Award, as Charles Laughton won the 1933 Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. The Private Life of Henry VIII. was a major international success, establishing Korda as a leading filmmaker and Laughton as a box office star. And Charles Laughton is indeed terrific in the title role. He portrays Henry during nearly twelve years - first as a virile, charming but dangerous man when he's young and as a crouching, old fool in his latest years when he fights to retain youth and yet ages badly due to ill-health. Laughton deservedly was awarded an Oscar for his role. Another highlight is Elsa Lanchester's memorably eccentric performance as Anne of Cleves. Lanchester, Laughton's real-life wife, plays Anne with a kind of flakey caginess that is funny, fascinating and original. Lanchester actually was lovely, but Anne figures her only way to avoid Henry's attentions is to push out her jaw and act dense when he talks about what her wifely duties entail. She and Laughton have a wonderful comic chemistry as they spend their wedding night playing cards, and it is especially fun to watch Laughton as his character gets some of his own back for all his serial marrying.

Sources: Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Mark Waltz (IMDb), Martin Hafer (IMDb), Bob Lipton (IMDb), Danny (Pre-code.com), John Howard Reid (IMDb), Lejink (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.

Next week: five Filmshots by Film Weekly from the collection of Ivo Blom.

The Sign of the Cross (1932)

In Cecil B. De Mille's lavish historical epic The Sign of the Cross (1932), a Roman soldier becomes torn between his love for a Christian woman and his loyalty to Emperor Nero. The outstanding cast is one of the film's strongest points. Fredric March is stalwart as the Roman official who falls in love with a sweet Christian girl, played by Elissa Landi. But they are upstaged by the villains, Charles Laughton and Claudette Colbert playing Emperor Nero and his wife Empress Empress Poppaea. The Sign of the Cross (1932) is the third and last in DeMille's biblical trilogy with The Ten Commandments (1923) and The King of Kings (1927).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 176/1. Photo: Paramount. Fredric March in The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. deMille, 1932).


Dutch-German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 176/4. Photo: Paramount. Claudette Colbert in Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille, 1932). On the back: Boekhandel Leonard Tijssen, Leeuwarden.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 176/6. Photo: Paramount. Elissa Landi and Fredric March in The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille, 1932).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 176/7. Photo: Paramount. Fredric March in The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille, 1932). The title is indicated in French, German English and Dutch.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 176/8. Photo: Paramount. Fredrich March and Claudette Colbert in The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille, 1932).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 176/10. Photo: Paramount. Elissa Landi and Fredric March in The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille, 1932).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 176/12. Photo: Paramount. Elissa Landi in The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille, 1932), based on the original 1895 play by Wilson Barrett.

A famous milk bath

In 1932 – at the height of the depression, Paramount was in financial straits and Hollywood's output was mostly limited to small-scale dramas and bedroom comedies. However, Cecil B. DeMille decided to make an epic. Against all odds, he carryied the torch for grandeur and spectacle and produced and directed one of his best films, The Sign of the Cross (1931), a vivid retelling of the struggles of the first Christians.

The Roman Empire - First Century A. D. After burning Rome, Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar (Charles Laughton) decides to blame the Christians, and issues the edict that they are all to be caught and sent to the arena. The mad Emperor and his his vile Empress engage in every sort of vice and degradation. Wanton cruelty becomes a spectator sport and virtue and innocence are denigrated. Two old Christians are caught, and about to be hauled off, when Prefect Marcus Superbus (Fredric March), the highest military official in Rome, comes upon them. When he sees their stepdaughter Mercia (Elissa Landi), he instantly falls in love with her and frees them.

Marcus pursues Mercia, which gets him into trouble with the Emperor for being easy on the Christians and with Empress Poppaea (Claudette Colbert), who loves him and is jealous. When Landi's Mercia's friends are marched off to the arena to die, she wants to join them. Marcus sacrifices his career by demanding that the emperor spares her life. Nero agrees, but only if she renounces her faith... So, which will eventually triumph - the might of Imperial Rome, or the gentle ones who follow The sign of the cross?

Steffi-P at IMDb: "The acting in Sign of the Cross is a bit of a mixed bag, although it is of a higher standard than many of the DeMille talkies. Charles Laughton is hammily brilliant, laying down a blueprint for Emperor Nero which Peter Ustinov would follow to a well-deserved Oscar-nomination in Quo Vadis (1951). However Laughton's part is fairly small, and the screenplay makes Claudette Colbert the real villain. Colbert is fantastic, playing the Empress as an ancient world vamp, giving by far the best performance of the bunch. It's almost a shame that It Happened One Night re-invented her as a major romantic lead, because she really was at her best when she played villains."

Martin Kukuczka at IMDb adds: "Except for the cruel arena sequence, which is still entertaining in some way, any viewer will be surprised at one scene: Poppaea's famous milk bath. That's a moment that everyone should consider while watching the film. Her sexual bath is one of the best made moments that cinema has ever seen. It is totally filled with desire and sexuality. And all thanks to the great performance by Ms Colbert. No surprise Cecil B DeMille cast her to play Cleopatra two years later, in 1934."

As with many other pre-Code films that were reissued after the Motion Picture Production Code was strictly enforced in 1934, The Sign of the Cross (1932) has a history of censorship. In the original version, Marcus is unsuccessful in his desire to seduce Mercia. He then urges Ancaria (Joyzelle Joyner) to perform the erotic 'Dance of the Naked Moon' that will "warm her into life". This 'lesbian dance' was cut from the negative for a 1938 reissue, but was restored by MCA/Universal for its 1993 video release. Some gladiatorial combat footage was also cut for the 1938 reissue, as were arena sequences involving naked women being attacked by crocodiles and a gorilla. These were also restored in 1993.


British postcard in the series Film Shots by Film Weekly. Photo: Paramount. Charles Laughton and Claudette Colbert in The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille, 1932).


British postcard in the series Film Shots by Film Weekly. Photo: Paramount. publicity still for The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille, 1932).


French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, no. 2061. Photo: Elissa Landi in The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille, 1932).


French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 2062. Photo: Paramount. Fredric March in The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille, 1932).


French postcard by Editions Cinémagazine, no. 2063. Photo: Paramount. Fredric March and Elissa Landi in The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille, 1932).

Sources: Steffi-P (IMDb), Martin Kukuczka (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.