The Sign of the Cross (1932)

The Sign of the Cross is a pre-code Cecil B. DeMille movie, and I loved it.  The first half is relatively dry, but things get crazy in the second act.  The movie takes place during the reign of Nero.  A Roman soldier falls in love with a Christian woman, and rescues her when a meeting of Christians gets broken up and everyone is arrested.  He then has an orgy where a woman does a sexy dance for her.  The movie also feature a Colosseum scene that gets progressively more ridiculous, culminating in battle between Amazons and black dwarfs.  I got the feeling that we were supposed to feel sorry for the Christians, but they all seemed pretty eager to die to me.  They knew that their meeting wasn't a secret anymore, but held it anyway.  As far as costuming goes, the Christian woman is dressed like someone from the 10th century, while Claudette Colbert as the empress is pure 1930s glamour girl.