The Sword and the Cross (Italian: La spada e la croce) is a 1958 Italian religious drama film directed by Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia and starring Yvonne De Carlo as Mary Magdalene.

[1] Shot in English and later dubbed in Italian,[2] the film was released in the United States in 1960 as Mary Magdalene.

[4] The film's director, Carlo Ludovico Bragaglia, later remembered that the "producer, Ottavio Poggi, had sent the provisional script to America, so Yvonne De Carlo could read it and decide on her participation in the film.

"[5] Edgar G. Ulmer was reportedly preparing another project on Magdalene with Ottavio Poggi.

[8] Although the film was shot under the English title The Sword and the Cross another Italian film with that name (Le Schiave di Cartagine aka Slaves of Carthage) starring Gianna Maria Canale and Jorge Mistral, was released un the US in 1960.