Sign of the Cross

As mentioned, one of the Claudette Colbert films I wanted to see was The Sign of the Cross as I had heard much about it. It was, on the whole, about what I expected from DeMille and a good film. I was a bit surprised by the relative lack of screen time for Colbert though. She is billed as one of the stars, but is in the film less than several of the other players.

Another side note, I was struck by a scene in which Marcus Superbus (yes, that is his name) has brought the chaste Christain Mercia he is in love with back to his palace for a party (orgy). She resists being one of his playthings and, eventually, he has Ancaria, the "most talented" woman in all of Rome, attempt to seduce her by singing and dancing for here.

The scene that ensues is amazingly like the scene in Blue Velvet at Ben's place when Ben is singing "In Dreams" while Frank sings along and Jeffrey watches. In Sign of the Cross, Ancaria sings a song that has similar lyrics - "In my dreams," "I come to you," "I walk with you," and others that are similar, and the whole feel of the moment is like that of Blue Velvet, with the innocent protagonist being both shocked and somewhat seduced by the intriging decadence he/she finds around him/her.

I could write more, but was wondering if anyone knew if this moment was an influence on this moment. I have looked through some of my stuff on Blue Velvet but can't find any connection.