The Sign of the Cross

DeMille’s The Sign of the Cross (1932). As Poppaea, the wife of Nero (played campily by Charles Laughton) and “the wickedest woman in the world,” Colbert slinked about in revealing costumes, vamped costar Fredric March, and in one famous scene took a bath in what was…

…play the depraved Nero in The Sign of the Cross (1932). He returned to England in 1933 to play the title role in The Private Life of Henry VIII, a rich, robust performance that won him an Academy Award.