Quo Vadis (1951 film)

Quo Vadis
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Mervyn LeRoy
Produced by	Sam Zimbalist
Screenplay by	S. N. Behrman Sonya Levien John Lee Mahin
Based on	Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Starring	Robert Taylor Deborah Kerr Peter Ustinov Leo Genn Patricia Laffan Finlay Currie Felix Aylmer Abraham Sofaer
Music by	Miklós Rózsa
Cinematography	Robert Surtees William V. Skall
Editing by	Ralph E. Winters
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	November 8, 1951 (1951-11-08)
Running time	171 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Quo Vadis is a 1951 epic film made by MGM. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and produced by Sam Zimbalist, from a screenplay by John Lee Mahin, S. N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, adapted from Henryk Sienkiewicz's classic 1896 novel Quo Vadis. The music score was by Miklós Rózsa and the cinematography by Robert Surtees and William V. Skall. The title refers to an incident in the Acts of Peter; see Quo Vadis?.

The film stars Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn, Peter Ustinov, with Patricia Laffan, Finlay Currie, Felix Aylmer and Abraham Sofaer. Sophia Loren was cast in the movie as an (uncredited) extra.

Plot

The action takes place in ancient Rome from AD 64–68, a period after Emperor Claudius' illustrious and powerful reign, during which the new corrupt and destructive Emperor Nero ascends to power and eventually threatens to destroy Rome's previous peaceful order.The main subject is the conflict between Christianity and the corruption of the Roman Empire, especially in the last period of the Julio-Claudian line. The characters and events depicted are a mixture of actual historical figures and situations and fictionalized ones.

The film tells the story of a Roman military commander, Marcus Vinicius (Robert Taylor), returning from the wars, who falls in love with a devout Christian, Lygia (Deborah Kerr), and slowly becomes intrigued by her religion. Their love story is told against the broader historical background of early Christianity and its persecution by Nero (Peter Ustinov). Though she grew up Roman as the adopted daughter of a retired general, Aulus Plautius (Felix Aylmer), Lygia is technically a hostage of Rome. Marcus persuades Nero to give her to him for services rendered. Lygia resents this, but still falls in love with Marcus.

Meanwhile, Nero's atrocities become increasingly more outrageous and his acts more insane. When he burns Rome and blames the Christians, Marcus goes off to save Lygia and her family. Nero captures them and all the Christians, and condemns them to be killed in the arena. However, Marcus' uncle, Petronius (Leo Genn), Nero's most trusted advisor, warns that the Christians will be made martyrs and, tired of Nero's insanity and suspecting that he might become a victim of his antics too, commits suicide by slitting his wrists, sending Nero a farewell letter in which he finally communicates his derisive opinions he had never been able to tell the emperor in fear of his own life. Marcus is arrested for trying to save Lygia. In prison, Peter (Finlay Currie), who has also been arrested after returning to Rome upon a sign of the Lord, marries the couple; eventually, Peter is crucified upside-down.

Poppaea (Patricia Laffan), Nero's wife, who lusts after Marcus, devises a diabolical revenge for his rejection of her. Lygia is tied to a wooden stake in the arena. A wild bull is also placed there, and Lygia's bodyguard giant, Ursus (Buddy Baer) must try to kill it with his bare hands, otherwise Lygia will be gored to death. Marcus is tied to the spectator's box and forced to watch, much to the horror of his officers, who also attend the spectacle. When all seems hopeless, Ursus is able to break the bull's neck. Hugely impressed by Ursus' courage, the crowd exhorts Nero to spare them, which the emperor is not willing to do. However, Nero's four other retainers Seneca (Nicholas Hannen), architect Phaon (D. A. Clarke-Smith), Lucan (Alfredo Varelli), and Terpnos (Geoffrey Dunn) vouch for the mob's demands by putting their thumbs up as well. Marcus then breaks free of his bonds, leaps into the arena, frees Lygia with the help of his loyal troops, and announces that General Galba is at that moment marching on Rome, intent on replacing Nero.

The crowd, now firmly believing that Nero, and not the Christians, is responsible for the burning of Rome, revolts. Nero flees to his palace, where he strangles Poppaea to death, blaming her for attempting to scapegoat the Christians. Then Acte (Rosalie Crutchley), a palace slave who was once in unrequited love with Nero, appears and offers to aid him in ending his own life before the mob storms the palace. The cowardly Nero cannot bring himself to do it, so Acte drives the dagger into his chest, weeping over his demise.

Marcus, Lygia and Ursus are now free and leave Rome. By the roadside, Peter's crook, which he had left behind when he returned to Rome, has miraculously sprouted flowers. The radiant light intones, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

Production notes

Screenshot of Peter Ustinov from the trailer for the film Quo Vadis

• The film was originally cast in 1949 with Elizabeth Taylor as Lygia and Gregory Peck as Marcus Vinicius. When the production changed hands the following year, the roles went to Deborah Kerr and Robert Taylor. Elizabeth Taylor was also a Christian prisoner in arena, but uncredited.
• Sophia Loren briefly appears uncredited as a slave.
• The film holds a record for the most costumes used in one movie; 32,000.
• The film was shot on location in Rome and in the Cinecittà Studios.
• Peter Ustinov relates in his autobiography, Dear Me, that director Mervyn LeRoy summarized the manner in which he envisioned Ustinov should play the Emperor Nero, very salaciously, as "Nero...He plays with himself, nights." Ustinov, getting the director's gist, thereafter notes that this depraved manner was the basis of his creation of the character of Nero for the film.
• At one point in the film Nero shows his court a scale model illustrating his plans for rebuilding Rome. This model was originally constructed by Mussolini's government for a 1937 exhibition of Roman architecture—the film's producers borrowed it from the postwar Italian government.

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards

Quo Vadis was nominated for eight Academy Awards: twice for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Leo Genn as Petronius and Peter Ustinov as Nero), and also for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color (William A. Horning, Cedric Gibbons, Edward Carfagno, Hugh Hunt), Best Cinematography, Color, Best Costume Design, Color, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, and Best Picture. However, the movie did not win a single Academy Award.

Much of the footage of Rome burning was reused in George Pal's 1961 MGM production Atlantis, the Lost Continent. Reportedly, at a preview screening of the film, when patrons were asked to answer the question "What part of the film did you like best?" many responded by writing, "The part where Robert Taylor rescues Deborah Kerr," recognizing the footage from the earlier film.

Golden Globe Awards

Peter Ustinov won the Golden Globe Award Best Supporting Actor. The Golden Globe for Best Cinematography was won by Robert Surtees and William V. Skall. The film was also nominated for Best Motion Picture – Drama

Home media

• A 2-Disc Special Edition of the movie was released on DVD in the US on November 11, 2008 after a long photochemical restoration process. A high definition Blu-Ray version was released March 17, 2009.

See also

• List of epic films
• List of films set in ancient Rome
• List of historical drama films

External links

• Quo Vadis at the Internet Movie Database
• Quo Vadis at AllRovi