Constantine And The Cross
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''Constantine and the Cross'' (Italian: ''Costantino il grande'') is a 1961
historical drama film A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction such as c ...
about the early career of the emperor Constantine, who first legalized and then adopted
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
in the early 4th century. The fictionalised film only stretches as far into his life as the
Battle of the Milvian Bridge The Battle of the Milvian Bridge took place between the Roman Emperors Constantine the Great, Constantine I and Maxentius on 28 October AD 312. It takes its name from the Milvian Bridge, an important route over the Tiber. Constantine won the batt ...
in AD 312. It was also known as Constantine the Great or Constantino il Grande - In Hoc Signo Vinces.CONSTANTINE THE GREAT "(Costantino Il Grande - In Hoc Signo Vinces)" Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 29, Iss. 336, (Jan 1, 1962): 153.


Premise

Constantine wins a battle and is sent to Rome. On the way he and his friend Hadrian are attacked by bandits. Hadrian is nursed back to health by some Christians, including Livia, who falls in love with Hadrian. Constantine discovers the bandits were sent by Maxentius, Constantine's rival for power. Constantine watches some Christians be eaten by the lions. He jumps into the arena to defend a surviving child, and asks for the other Christians to be set free. Livia is arrested. Hadrian, who has fallen in love with her, arranges for her to escape from prison. Constantine is blamed, and branded a traitor by the Romans. Constantine leaves his bride to be, Princes Fausta, and learns from his dying father, the Emperor of Gaul, that his mother Helena is a Christian. Maxentius persecutes Christians and attacks Constantine in Gaul. Constantinus defeats Maxientus and becomes Emperor of Rome alongside Fausta, while Helena blesses them both.


Cast

*
Cornel Wilde Cornel Wilde (born Kornél Lajos Weisz; October 13, 1912 – October 16, 1989) was a Hungarian-American actor and filmmaker. Wilde's acting career began in 1935, when he made his debut on Broadway. In 1936 he began making small, uncredited ap ...
as Constantine * Belinda Lee as
Fausta Flavia Maxima Fausta ''Augusta'' (died 326 AD) was a Roman empress. She was the daughter of Maximian and wife of Constantine the Great, who had her executed and excluded from all official accounts for unknown reasons. Historians Zosimus and ...
* Massimo Serato as
Maxentius Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius ( 283 – 28 October 312) was a Roman emperor from 306 until his death in 312. Despite ruling in Italy and North Africa, and having the recognition of the Senate in Rome, he was not recognized as a legitimate ...
*
Christine Kaufmann Christine Maria Kaufmann (; 11 January 1945 – 28 March 2017) was a German-Austrian actress, author, and businesswoman. The daughter of a German father and a French mother, she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress f ...
as Livia * Fausto Tozzi as Hadrian * Tino Carraro as
Maximian Maximian (; ), nicknamed Herculius, was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar (title), Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocleti ...
* Carlo Ninchi as
Constantius Chlorus Flavius Valerius Constantius ( – 25 July 306), also called Constantius I, was a Roman emperor from 305 to 306. He was one of the four original members of the Tetrarchy established by Diocletian, first serving as Caesar (title), ''caesar'' ...
* Vittorio Sanipoli as
Apuleius Apuleius ( ), also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (c. 124 – after 170), was a Numidians, Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He was born in the Roman Empire, Roman Numidia (Roman province), province ...
* Nando Gazzolo as Licinius * Annibale Ninchi as Galarius *
Elisa Cegani Elisa Cegani (11 June 1911 – 23 February 1996) was an Italian actress. She appeared in 60 films between 1935 and 1983. Partial filmography * '' Aldebaran'' (1935) - Nora Bandi * ''Cavalry'' (1936) - Speranza di Frassineto * '' The Counte ...
as Elena *
Franco Fantasia Franco Fantasia (5 March 1924 – 10 November 2002) was an Italian film actor, stuntman and fencing master. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1951 to 2002. He was the brother of actor Andrea Fantasia. Illness and death Septem ...
as Roman Soldier * Loris Gizzi as Roman Prosecutor * Enrico Glori as Livia's Father * Jole Mauro as Celi * Nando Tamberlani as
Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...
*
Renato Terra Renato Terra (26 July 1922 – 28 November 2010), also known by the alias Ryan Earthpick, was an Italian actor and later a poet. Biography Terra had a career working in film as an actor, and appeared in over 80 Film, movies. In 1977 he retired ...
as Jailer * Lauro Gazzolo as Amodius


Production

Filming took place in August 1960, with locations in Yugoslavia and studio work in Rome. While filming a scene in Rome Cornel Wilde was scratched by a lion. Filming was completed by November.


Release

''Constantine and the Cross'' was released in Italy in January 1961. It was released in the United States in December 1962.


Reception

The ''New York Times'' called it "one of those ponderous costumed tabloids that's trampled history to death and turned what's left of its fragments into boring banalities." The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' said "the familiar ingredients of this tired spectacle - lions, fair haired Christian girls, torture chambers, battles, assassination attempts, intrigue - fail to arouse any noticeable excitement in the director or the cast." The movie was one of Belinda Lee's more widely seen European films. According to Gary Smith, film historian " The film is memorable for its impressive battle scenes (reused in countless peplum films for years to come) and because of the striking presence of Belinda Lee as Constantine’s wife Fausta."


See also

*
List of historical drama films This is an index of lists of historical films. By country of origin * List of Estonian war films * List of Polish war films * List of Romanian historical films * List of Russian historical films * List of Vietnamese historical films By er ...
* List of films set in ancient Rome


References


Sources

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External links

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''Costantine and the Cross''
at Variety Distribution *[COSTANTINO IL GRANDE - IN HOC SIGNO VINCES
Constantine and the Cross
at Letterbox DVD {{Authority control 1961 films 1960s biographical films Italian biographical films Films set in ancient Rome Films set in the Roman Empire Films set in the 4th century Religious epic films Biographical films about Roman emperors Films scored by Mario Nascimbene Sword-and-sandal films 1960s Italian-language films English-language Italian films 1960s Italian films Films directed by Lionello De Felice