"Sign of the Cross."

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 82, 7 April 1933, Page 3

"Sign of the Cross."

As a special. Easter offering, the management of the Regent Theatre are. to present Cecil B. de MUles 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«space of forty-eight hours. "The Sign of the Cross' is first and foremost a spectacle of pagan Rome, reaching its fullest expression In a Roman holiday at the Circus Maxlmus, where the gladiatorial contests and all the brutal games that, delighted Nero served as a prelude to Jhe sacrifice of the Christians to the lions. But it is also a dramatic story ,of Christian - persecution, and a tenderly beautiful' lore' story of a Christian girl and a Roman patrician. These roles aie played by Elissa Landi and Fredric March. It Is. Charles Laughton's Nero, however, which is not only the outstanding characterisation oi the film, but one of the memorable characterisations of all times. Claudette Colbert, too, as the Empress Poppaea, glv.es a performance of remarkable depth and powor.