Cecil B. DeMille’s The Sign of the Cross to Screen Wednesday, April 17th at 6:30 PM
April 5, 2019
April’s Classic Movie Night at Scranton Public Library will feature Cecil B. DeMille’s 1932 religious epic The Sign of the Cross, which will screen Wednesday, April 17th at 6:30 PM in the Henkelman Room, located on the second floor of the library. The Sign of the Cross will be preceded by the 1905 silent film The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ at 5:45 PM.
Admission is free with your library card. Light snacks will be provided to attendees.
In Cecil B. DeMille’s classic Pre-Code epic, a Roman soldier (Fredric March) becomes torn between his love for a Christian woman (Elissa Landi) and his loyalty to Emperor Nero (Charles Laughton)…as well as the infatuation of ruthless Princess Poppaea (Claudette Colbert).
Following the enforcement of the Production Code of 1934, the film was heavily censored upon its rerelease in 1944, removing all scenes of sex (including Colbert’s infamous nude bath in ass’ milk) and violence (Christians being hunted with arrows and devoured by lions). The original camera negative was ordered to be cut and the scenes thrown away, thought to be lost forever.
In 1994, using rare, thought-lost nitrate prints of the original version of the film, The Sign of the Cross was restored by EMKA Limited and American Movie Classics to its original pre-code version.
The library is proud to present the uncut, restored 123 minute version of the original film, complete with 3-minute intermission, just in time for Easter.
For more information, or to pre-register for the screening, please visit www.albright.org or call Bill at (570) 348-3000, x3016.
