The Sign of the Cross
The Sign of the Cross

Watch The Sign of the Cross Online Free

- 68/100 based on 2,562 votes

After burning Rome, Emperor Nero decides to blame the Christians, and issues the edict that they are all to be caught and sent to the arena. Two old Christians are caught, and about to be hauled off, when Marcus, the highest military official in Rome, comes upon them. When he sees their stepdaughter Mercia, he instantly falls in love with her and frees them. Marcus pursues Mercia, which gets him into trouble with Emperor (for being easy on Christians) and with the Empress, wh... (Full plot summary below)

Watch MOVIES for FREE on Prime Video

Enjoy FREE movies and series with your Prime (USA) subscription or when you start a 30-day free trial!

Share this

The Sign of the Cross Online Streaming

Links compiled using automated software. Availability of offers subject to change / might be region specific / out of date.

Rent The Sign of the Cross on DVD

Rent The Sign of the Cross on Blu-ray

Today's Featured Movies:

Sunset BoulevardSunset Boulevard
For a Few Dollars MoreFor a Few Dollars More
Scent of a WomanScent of a Woman
Rear WindowRear Window
PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia
ChinatownChinatown
A.I. Artificial IntelligenceA.I. Artificial Intelligence
The Tomorrow WarThe Tomorrow War
AlienAlien
Minority ReportMinority Report
A Fistful of DollarsA Fistful of Dollars
The Elephant ManThe Elephant Man
ZodiacZodiac
Adaptation.Adaptation.
Big FishBig Fish
The Passion of the ChristThe Passion of the Christ

You Might Also Like:

Looking for CheyenneLooking for Cheyenne
Pavlos MelasPavlos Melas
Finding FaithFinding Faith
EverEver
Homosexualité, les derniers condamnésHomosexualité, les derniers condamnés
TurnipseedTurnipseed

Actors in The Sign of the Cross:

Fredric March
Elissa Landi
Claudette Colbert
Charles Laughton
Ian Keith
Arthur Hohl

Full Plot Details

After burning Rome, Emperor Nero decides to blame the Christians, and issues the edict that they are all to be caught and sent to the arena. Two old Christians are caught, and about to be hauled off, when Marcus, the highest military official in Rome, comes upon them. When he sees their stepdaughter Mercia, he instantly falls in love with her and frees them. Marcus pursues Mercia, which gets him into trouble with Emperor (for being easy on Christians) and with the Empress, who loves him and is jealous.

Review & Comments

Leave your thoughts about The Sign of the Cross.

Movie Reviews

Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus - 6/10 by Bryant FrazerThe film's generous helpings of sex and violence are overwhelmed by its general air of condescension and phony piety.
Variety - 6/10 by Variety StaffCast is uniformly good, but only one exceptional performance is registered. That's Laughton's.
User Review - 8/10 by Russell GPretty good early epic from Demille. Kinda a slow first half, the second part goes bonkers with all the Christians forced to fight gladiators, and barbarian woman fighting midgets, and nude girls tied to poles fighting gorillas... like I said, pretty damned good.
User Review - 8/10 by Jeremiah LGreat early DeMille epic, though sometimes a little too thick on the morals. Full of Pre-Hays goodness. There is a long scene with various people being slaughtered by various things in the coliseum. Some parts would still shock today, like the Pygmy Kabob.
User Review - 8/10 by Rachel BSome awesome costumes in this entertaining and very well made film that draws you in and you don't want to let it go! :)
User Review - 8/10 by Greg Wthis was one of the first pre-code pics i watched and got me totally hooked on them this one did it 4 me couldnt believe what they got away with
User Review - 8/10 by Kevin M. WCecil B. DeMille again, this time in the Rome of Emperor Nero, imagining on film for his breathless fans what it was like for Christians in those days of public executions for entertainment and propaganda sake. Laughton (with a ridiculous nose piece) is the depraved ("because he's homosexual") Nero, existing only for the next moment's debauchery. Colbert (barely dressed for the length of the film) is his manipulating wife and the real power in town (and herself a slave to her unbridled passions). And March plays Nero's muscle (loyal to Nero mainly as it allows him his vices). The film exists to make money, and DeMille's plan is simple: bathe the yokels in the sin they're curious about, and then pretend to redeem them with some bargain basement piety (sort of). It's all a setup for the last portion of the film wherein DeMille unleashes his undeniably interesting spectacle of what a day at the Colosseum might've been like. He might've been a populist, but he knew his audience, as any good carny does. Not to be missed.
User Review - 6/10 by Orlok WGood movie for it's time, but very dated.
User Review - 6/10 by Veronique K"the sign of the cross" is one of cecil b. demile's epic flicks, introducing the story of the prosecutions on christianity in the ancient empire rome. it has charles laughton as the sinisterly merciless niro who enjoys witnessing his palace burned, claudette colbert as the lecherous empress who would arbitrarily disposes of her love rival due to the bitter jealousy, and fredric march as the love-crazed roman official who sacrifice himself for his love toward a fanatic christian woman. colbert exuberates the aristocratic sensuality in the floral bathing pond with her breasts vaguely baring, and lasciviously willful enough to respond her reluctant candidate of paramour "i love you" while he spitefully addresses her as tramp. except the slightly unproper curl bang, colbert paves the stepping stone for her niche of the 1934 cleopatra, another collaboration with director demile. laughton's obese insolence also savors up (or uglifies) the image of empirer niro. fredric march's gallant is a flat character who could barely move anyone, and his dedication of love could be explained by the proverb "what you can't get is always the best." elissa landi's blonde christian lily is a dreary character with uncomprehesible religious fever. maybe demonstrating how sincere christian martyrs explored the path of this widely converted religion itself is a preachy topic, and it makes you probe how could a former cult with so many stubbornly radical followers get so overwhelmingly popular? the sign of the cross was the the zodiac mark then, and the main difference is it's been validified with pragmatic hegemony today. demile's trademark is his lush vaudevilles, and the most intriguing one would be the snake-swaying lustful dance from a sedutress clinging to another female while the christian martyrs are marching outside with their jarring gospels. and mostly controversial of all, the circus theater of ancient rome plays various rousingly vile beast-human sequences, such as tiger nibbing child, ape rapping a tied naked woman on the pole, amazonian decapitating midget, crocodiles looming over a confined woman....and the last one, lions devouring christians. they're all disturbingly gory manifested by the stark tone of black and white, with enough explicit insinuations to suggest the brutality of roman mob, and the most unsettling of all, the wailing excitement and morbid amusement on the audience's faces. you may wonder if christiany is really such a great religion that people are willing to be consumed by wild felines alive for it...is march's last-min pledge out of his sudden elightenment or he's just a romantic steer willing to die with his lover?
User Review - 6/10 by Danette/Dani AI didn't love this, but it was entertaining enough. In a nutshell, it's about (an overly sexual) Ceaser killing Christians in 64 AD Rome. This is pre-Hollywood code, so you see Christians with arrows raining down on and through them. (Not to mention midgets spearing prostitutes, and more prostitutes getting eaten by alligators and orangutans. Fascinating!) It's basically a typical love flick, except in old Rome. It's full of formulaic plot twists and overacting, but then again, most love flicks are. I wouldn't watch this again, but am glad enough that I did.

Browse Movie Genres

Other Links

The Sign of the Cross

Watch Online For Free | Free Movies | Movie Genres | Most Viewed | Top Rated | Latest Releases

About Us • Affiliates • Terms of Use • Disclaimer • Cookies • Privacy Policy • Copyright • DMCA Compliance • Contact Us • Language Settings

Copyright © 2004 - 2016 Watch Online For Free or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

Imagery, artwork, logos, service marks, and trademarks used on this page are the intellectual property of their respective companies.

Related Websites: Amazon Prime Free Trial - DVD Rental Free Trial - Prime Video Free Trial - Movie Trailers