Editing Mervyn LeRoy (section)

== ''Quo Vadis'' (1951): Biblical spectacle ==

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's [[Quo Vadis (1951 film)|''Quo Vadis'']] (1950) dramatizes an episode in the [[apocrypha]] [[Acts of Peter]]. The Latin title translates as "Where are you going?" and was adapted from a novel by Nobel Laureate author [[Henryk Sienkiewicz]].<ref>Reilly, 2003. TCM: "The production of ''Quo Vadis'' came at the height of an executive power struggle at MGM ([[Dore Schary]] replaced former mogul [[Louis B. Mayer]]) and at a crucial time in the history of U.S. motion picture production because of the new competition from television. Director Mervyn LeRoy believed that motion pictures should offer larger and better spectacles in order to compete with the new medium. Whether this opinion was the result of prescience or hindsight, Quo Vadis was indeed the greatest spectacle ever made up to that time."</ref>

LeRoy's recognized that the Hollywood film industry would be best served by "accommodating" the emerging [[Golden Age of Television|popularity of television]], envisioning a division of mass entertainment function: TV would do small scale, low-budget productions dealing with "intimate things," while the motion picture studios would provide "the bigger, broader type of film."<ref>Leroy and Kleiner, 1974 p. 169: "It was a spectacle, and I wanted to make a spectacle...I whipped the monumental story into a script that was possible to film but had all the vastness the tale demanded."</ref> LeRoy's turn to "gigantic spectacle" coincided with the early onset of Hollywood's relative decline, as described by film historians Charles Higham and Joel Greenberg:

{{blockquote |At the close of the Forties, something vital seemed to be ebbing away ever more swiftly from the films of Hollywood, a process accelerating in the early Fifties, reaching a climax with the introduction of [[CinemaScope]]...the Forties may now be seen as the apotheosis of the U.S. feature film, its last great show of confidence and skill before it succumbed artistically to the paralyzing effects of bigger and bigger screens and the collapse of the star system.<ref name="Higham and Greenberg, 1968 p. 18">Higham and Greenberg, 1968 p. 18</ref>}}
{{quote box|width=30em|bgcolor=cornsilk|fontsize=100%|salign=center|quote=[[Cecil B. DeMille]], director of the silent film [[The Ten Commandments (1923 film)|''The Ten Commandments'']], counseled LeRoy on the worthiness of cinematic biblical epics:<br />
"I'll tell you Mervyn, the Bible has been a best-seller for centuries. Why let two thousand years of publicity go to waste?"<ref>LeRoy and Kleiner, 1974 p. 170</ref>}}
Logistically, Quo Vadis presented an "enormity." Filmed at the [[Cinecittà]] Studios in [[Rome, Italy|Rome]], the production required the mobilization of tens of thousands of extras, more than nine months of shooting and an immense financial risk for M-G-M.<ref>LeRoy and Kleiner, 1974 p. 170: "...the enormity of the project..."</ref><ref>Celia, 2003 TCM: "The logistics involved in producing a film of this magnitude were staggering. There were over two hundred speaking parts, many hundreds of workmen, and tens of thousands of extras. The company was managed in a paramilitary fashion, with group captains assigned to a specific number of extras, for whom they were responsible for everything from make-up to wages during the length of the shoot. As the first color film made at Cinecitta Studios in Rome."</ref>

The huge investment in time and money paid off: Second only to [[Gone with the Wind (film)|''Gone with the Wind'']] (1939) in gross earnings, ''Quo Vadis'' garnered eight Academy Award nominations in 1952.<ref>Celia, 2003 TCM: "When the Academy Award nominations were given out for 1952, ''Quo Vadis'' received eight including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actors (Leo Genn and Peter Ustinov), Best Color Cinematography, Best Color Art Direction, Best Dramatic Score, Best Film Editing, and Best Costume Design. However, it didn't win in any category since An American in Paris, A Streetcar Named Desire, and A Place in the Sun claimed most of the major awards."<br />LeRoy and Kleiner, 1974 p. 169: Leroy reports a 12 million dollar cost for the film, but a 50 million dollar gross.<br />Barson, 2020: "''Quo Vadis'' (1951), MGM's $7 million epic about the persecution of Christians under the Roman emperor Nero, had actually been initiated in 1949 with John Huston directing, but LeRoy took over the production, which was filmed on location in Rome over six grueling months...''Quo Vadis'' was MGM's second highest grossing picture ever, behind Gone with the Wind (1939)."</ref>

LeRoy welcomed the services of an American [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] priest assigned to act as a technical adviser on the production. The director was granted a personal audience with [[Pope Pius XII]] and, upon LeRoy's request, the Pope blessed the script of ''Quo Vadis.''<ref>LeRoy and Kleiner, 1974 p. 174-175</ref>

=== Musicals and romantic comedies: 1952–1954 ===

In the aftermath of his successful epic ''Quo Vadis'', LeRoy turned away from spectacles to lighter productions:<ref>LeRoy and Kleiner, 1974 p. 179: After finishing ''Quo Vadis'' "you don't try to top it with a film of the same genre, you do something far removed from it." And p. 180: LeRoy reports rejecting new M-G-M head [[Dore Schary]]'s suggestion to make The Plymouth Adventure: "I decided to shift gears..."</ref><ref>Barson, 2020: "From that height [of the ''Quo Vadis'' success], LeRoy returned to more-routine projects."</ref>

'''''[[Lovely to Look At]]''''' (1952): A re-make of the 1935 [[Fred Astaire|Astaire]]-[[Ginger Rogers|Rogers]] musical scored by [[Jerome Kern]], [[Roberta (1935 film)|''Roberta'']], directed by [[William A. Seiter]]. [[Vincente Minnelli]] organized the extravagant fashion show finale, with costumes by [[Adrian (costume designer)|Adrian]]<ref>Canham, 1976 p. 184. And p. 161: "The musical remakes, such as Lovely To Look At...reunited LeRoy with Busby Berkeley but there was less emphasis on the mechanics of the numbers than on the vocal abilities of the singing stars."</ref><ref>Barson, 2020: "Lovely to Look At (1952), with Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel, was a handsome if unnecessary remake of Roberta (1935)."</ref>

'''''[[Million Dollar Mermaid]]''''' (1952): An aquatic-themed biopic loosely based on the life of Australian swimmer [[Annette Kellermann|Annette Kellerman]], portrayed by [[Esther Williams]] and aided by LeRoy's "competent direction." [[Busby Berkeley]] stages his lavishly produced underwater Oyster ballet.<ref>Canham, 1976 p. 161-162: "...competent direction..." and Berkeley's "gloriously spectacular' water ballet.</ref><ref>Cox, 2004 TCM: "a story loosely based on the real-life Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman. The movie, full of romance, music, and dazzling underwater spectacles, remains one of the definitive films of Williams' career...Dominating the film are, of course, water extravaganzas orchestrated by the Million Dollar Dance Director himself, Busby Berkeley."<br />Barson, 2020: "a biopic about Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman (Williams), who became a Hollywood star in the silent era; Berkeley handled the musical numbers."</ref>

'''[[Latin Lovers (1953 film)|''Latin Lovers'']]''' (1953): A romantic musical comedy starring [[Lana Turner]] and [[Ricardo Montalbán]].<ref>Canham, 1976 p. 184-185</ref><ref>LoBianco, 2009 TCM</ref>

'''[[Rose Marie (1954 film)|''Rose Marie'']]''' (1954): An adaptation of a stage operetta by [[Otto Harbach]] and previously filmed by M-G-M in silent and sound versions, the LeRoy adaptation starred [[Ann Blyth]] and [[Howard Keel]].<ref>Barson, 2020: "Rose Marie (1954) was another inferior remake of a 1930s classic."<br />Passafiume, 2011. TCM: "Rose Marie was based on the famous stage operetta originally written by Otto Harbach, Oscar Hammerstein II and [[Rudolf Friml]] that was first produced for the New York stage in 1924. The story had already been filmed twice before at MGM, both times to great success. The 1928 silent version featured Joan Crawford in the title role, and the 1936 version starred Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald."<br />Canham, 1976 p. 161: "LeRoy must take some blame for [Lovely To Look At and Rose Marie], although they reflect the gulf between the major companies and their audiences that characterized American films in the post-war period."</re And p. 185: "...LeRoy's farewell to M-G-M...</ref> his final effort with M-G-M before he returned to Warner Brothers.<ref>Passafiume, 2011. TCM: "Rose Marie would be the last film that Mervyn LeRoy ever directed for MGM. LeRoy had worked successfully at MGM for over 20 years, but he and new studio head Dore Schary butted heads frequently, and LeRoy wanted out. Rose Marie would be his MGM swan song before moving to Warner Bros."</ref>

LeRoy attributes his disaffection from M-G-M to a professional incompatibility with [[Dore Schary]], who had recently replaced [[Louis B. Mayer]] as head of production: "[Schary] and I never really did see eye-to-eye on most things...since he was then running the studio, it didn't seem to make much sense for me to stick around."<ref>LeRoy and Kleiner, 1974 p. 184:</ref>