"SIGN OF THE CROSS."

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 81, 6 April 1933, Page 3

"SIGN OF THE CROSS."

As a special Easter offering, the managt ment of the Regent Theatre are to present Cecil B. de Mille's magnificent spectacle, "The Sign of the Cross/ 'It consists of spectacle on a monumental scale, including a whole panoramic picture of Rome under the reign of Nero and a dynamic story of elemental events crowded into the spacs of forty-eight hours. The spectacular type of film such ,as Dc Mille himself mada famous in the silent days is one of. the screen's fiuest contributions to entertainment. No other medium has the scope and- variety of the camera. Now with the addition of sound, the great director has been able to surpass all his past efforts. "The Sign of the Cross" is first Kftnd foremost a spectacle of .pagan Rome, reaching its fullest expression in a Roman holiday at the Circus Maximus, where the gladiatorial contests and all the brutal games that delighted Nero served as a. prelude to the sacrifice of the Christians to the lions. But it is also a dramatic story of Christian persecution, and a tenderly beautiful love story of a Christian girl and a Roman patrician. These roles are played by Elissa Landi and Fredrio March. It is Charles Laugh ton's Nero, however, which is not only the outstanding characterisation of the film, but one of the'memorable characterisations of. all times.. Claudette Colbert, too, as the Empress Poppaca, gives a performance of remarkable depth and power. ;

A combined meeting of JVgahauranga, • Gear (Petone), and Onslow branches of the Freezing Workers' Union passed a. resolution condemning the imprisonment of the Longburn men and demaudiug tlleir release.