Editing Quo Vadis (1951 film)

{{Short description|1951 American religious epic historical film by Mervyn LeRoy}}
{{For|other films with the same title|Quo Vadis (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Quo Vadis
| image          = Poster - Quo Vadis (1951) 01.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Mervyn LeRoy]]
| producer       = [[Sam Zimbalist]]
| based_on       = {{Based on|''[[Quo Vadis (novel)|Quo Vadis]]''<br>1896 novel|[[Henryk Sienkiewicz]]}}
| screenplay     = [[S. N. Behrman]]<br />[[Sonya Levien]]<br />[[John Lee Mahin]]
| starring       = [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]]<br />[[Deborah Kerr]]<br />[[Leo Genn]]<br />[[Peter Ustinov]]
| music          = [[Miklós Rózsa]]
| cinematography = [[Robert Surtees (cinematographer)|Robert Surtees]]<br />[[William V. Skall]]
| editing        = [[Ralph E. Winters]]
| studio         = [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]
| distributor    = [[Loews Cineplex Entertainment|Loew's, Inc.]]
| released       = {{Film date|1951|11|2}}
| runtime        = 171 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $7.6 million<ref name="Hall">{{cite book|last1=Hall|first1=Sheldon|last2=Neale|first2=Steve|title=Epics, Spectacles, and Blockbusters: A Hollywood History|date=2010|publisher=Wayne State University Press|location=Detroit, MI|isbn=978-0-8143-3008-1|page=137}}</ref>
| gross          = $21 million
}}
'''''Quo Vadis''''' ([[Latin]] for "Where are you going?") is a 1951 American [[List of religious films|religious]] [[epic film|epic historical film]] set in [[ancient Rome]] during the final years of Emperor [[Nero]]'s reign, based on the [[Quo Vadis (novel)|1896 novel of the same title]] by Polish Nobel Laureate author [[Henryk Sienkiewicz]]. Produced by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] and filmed in [[Technicolor]], it was directed by [[Mervyn LeRoy]] from a screenplay by [[S. N. Behrman]], [[Sonya Levien]], and [[John Lee Mahin]]. It is the fourth screen adaptation of Sienkiewicz's novel. The film stars [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]], [[Deborah Kerr]], [[Leo Genn]], and [[Peter Ustinov]], and features [[Patricia Laffan]], [[Finlay Currie]], [[Abraham Sofaer]], [[Marina Berti]], [[Buddy Baer]], and [[Felix Aylmer]]. Future Italian stars [[Sophia Loren]] and [[Carlo Pedersoli|Bud Spencer]] appeared as uncredited extras. The score is by [[Miklós Rózsa]] and the cinematography by [[Robert Surtees (cinematographer)|Robert Surtees]] and [[William V. Skall]]. The film was released by [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] on November 2, 1951.

The story, set between 64 and 68 AD, combines both historical and fictional events and characters, and compresses the key events of that period into the space of only a few weeks. Its main theme is the [[Roman Empire]]’s conflict with [[Christianity]] and persecution of Christians in the final years of the [[Julio-Claudian]] line. Unlike his illustrious and powerful predecessor, Emperor [[Claudius]], Nero proved corrupt and destructive, and his actions eventually threatened to destroy Rome's previously peaceful social order. The title refers to an incident in the apocryphal [[Acts of Peter]].<ref>The words "quo vadis" as a question occur [https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=%22quo+vadis%22&t=VUL five times] in the Latin Bible – in Genesis 16:8, Genesis 32:17, Judges 19:17, John 13:36, and John 16:5.</ref>

The film was nominated for eight [[24th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]], including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], and it was such a huge box office success that it was credited with single-handedly rescuing MGM from the brink of bankruptcy. [[Peter Ustinov]] won the [[Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Award]] for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]], and [[Robert Surtees (cinematographer)|Robert Surtees]] and [[William V. Skall]] won the award for Best Cinematography.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Quo Vadis |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/quo-vadis |access-date=17 March 2022 |website=www.goldenglobes.com}}</ref>

==Plot==
[[File:Quo Vadis (1951) trailer 8.jpg|thumb|left|240px|Scene from ''Quo Vadis'']]
Marcus Vinicius is a Roman military commander and the [[legatus|legate]] of the [[Legio XIV Gemina|XIV Gemina]]. Returning from wars in Britain and Gaul, he stays in the house of [[Aulus Plautius]], a retired Roman general, and becomes smitten with Lygia, a [[Lygians|Lygian]] hostage of Rome in the old general's care. Unbeknownst to Marcus, Lygia, Aulus, and his household are devout [[Christians]], who host [[Paul the Apostle]] that very night. [[Petronius]], Marcus' uncle, persuades Nero to give the girl to his nephew as a reward for his services. Lygia resents this arrangement, but eventually falls in love with Marcus.

Meanwhile, Nero's atrocities become increasingly outrageous and his behavior more irrational. After Nero [[Great Fire of Rome|burns Rome]] and blames the Christians, Marcus sets out to rescue Lygia and her family. Nero arrests them, along with all the other Christians, and condemns them to be slaughtered in his Circus; some are killed by lions. Petronius, Nero's most trusted advisor, warns him that the Christians will be celebrated as martyrs, but he cannot change the emperor's mind. Then, tired of Nero's insanity and suspecting that he may be about to turn on him, too, Petronius composes a letter to Nero expressing his derision for the emperor (which he previously had concealed to avoid being murdered by him) and commits suicide by severing an artery in his wrist. His slavegirl Eunice (who has fallen in love with him) elects to die with him, despite being freed. The Christian apostle [[Saint Peter|Peter]] has also been arrested after returning to Rome in response to a sign from the Lord, and he marries Marcus and Lygia in the Circus prisons. Peter is later [[Cross of Saint Peter|crucified upside-down]], a form of execution conceived by Nero's Praetorian Guard as an expression of mockery.

[[Poppaea]], Nero's wife, who lusts after Marcus, devises a diabolical revenge for his rejection of her. Lygia is tied to a stake in the Circus and a wild bull is released into the arena. Lygia's bodyguard Ursus must attempt to kill the bull with his bare hands to save Lygia from being gored to death. Marcus is taken to the emperor's box and forced to watch. This act outrages his loyal officers who are among the spectators. Ursus is able to topple the bull, though, and break its neck. At that moment Marcus manages to break free from his bonds and leaps into the arena to get to Lygia. Massively impressed by Ursus's victory and seeing that Lygia is the beloved of Marcus who is still regarded as a great war hero, the crowd exhorts Nero to spare the couple. He refuses to do so, even after four of his courtiers, [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], architect [[Phaon (freedman)|Phaon]], poet [[Lucan]], and musician Terpnos [[Pollice verso|add their endorsement]] of the mob's demands. The decision enrages the crowd and Marcus's loyal troop members rush to the arena to save the three. Marcus accuses Nero of burning Rome and announces that General [[Galba]] is at that moment marching on the city, intent on replacing Nero, and hails him [[Year of the Four Emperors|as new Emperor of Rome]].

The crowd revolts, now firmly believing that Nero, not the Christians, is responsible for the burning of Rome. Nero flees to his palace, where he strangles Poppaea, blaming her for inciting him to [[scapegoat]] the Christians. Then [[Claudia Acte|Acte]], Nero's discarded mistress who is still in love with him, appears and offers him a dagger to [[suicide|end his own life]] before the mob storming the palace kills him. Nero cannot do it, so Acte [[Assisted suicide|helps him to push the dagger into his chest]], and he dies.

Marcus, Lygia, and Ursus are now free, and they leave Rome for Marcus' estate in Sicily to begin a new life together. By the roadside, Peter's [[Crozier|crook]], which he had left behind when he returned to Rome, has sprouted blossoms. A radiant light appears and a chorus intones, "I am the way, the truth, and the life," words spoken by Jesus ([[Gospel of John|John]] 14:6, [[New Testament]]).

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]] as Marcus Vinicius
* [[Deborah Kerr]] as Lygia
* [[Leo Genn]] as [[Petronius]]
* [[Peter Ustinov]] as [[Nero|Emperor Nero]]
* [[Patricia Laffan]] as [[Poppaea Sabina]]
* [[Finlay Currie]] as [[Saint Peter]]
* [[Abraham Sofaer]] as [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]]
* [[Marina Berti]] as Eunice
* [[Buddy Baer]] as Ursus
* [[Felix Aylmer]] as [[Aulus Plautius|Plautius]]
* [[Nora Swinburne]] as [[Pomponia Graecina|Pomponia]]
* [[Ralph Truman]] as [[Tigellinus]]
* [[Norman Wooland]] as [[Nerva]]
* [[Peter Miles (American actor)|Peter Miles]] as Nazarius
* [[Geoffrey Dunn (20th century singer, actor, director and translator)|Geoffrey Dunn]] as Terpnos
* [[Nicholas Hannen (actor)|Nicholas Hannen]] as [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]]
* [[D. A. Clarke-Smith]] as [[Phaon (freedman)|Phaon]]
* [[Rosalie Crutchley]] as [[Claudia Acte|Acte]]
* [[John Ruddock]] as Chilo
* Arthur Walge as Croton
* [[Elspeth March]] as Miriam
* Strelsa Brown as Rufia
* [[Alfredo Varelli]] as [[Lucan]]
* Roberto Ottaviano as Flavius
* [[William Tubbs]] as Anaxander
* [[Pietro Tordi]] as [[Galba]]
}}

The film features many uncredited supporting parts and [[Cameo appearance|cameos]]: including [[Elizabeth Taylor]] as a Christian prisoner in arena,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Elizabeth Taylor and extra in 'Quo Vadis' {{!}} Science Museum Group Collection |url=https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8711607/elizabeth-taylor-and-extra-in-quo-vadis |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk |language=en}}</ref> [[Sophia Loren]] as a Lygian slave,<ref>{{cite book|last=Small|first=Pauline|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4QhnLOpcLfcC&pg=PA24|title=Sophia Loren: Moulding the Star|publisher=[[Intellect Books]]|year=2009|isbn=978-1-84150-234-2|page=24|access-date=5 May 2017}}</ref> [[Christopher Lee]] as a chariot driver, [[Clelia Matania]] as Parmenida the hairdresser, [[Marika Aba]] as the Assyrian Dancer at Nero's banquet, [[Richard Garrick]] as a slave with Marcus at Triumph, [[Giuseppe Tosi]] as a wrestler at Nero's banquet, [[Adrienne Corri]] as an imprisoned Christian woman, [[Bud Spencer]] as an Imperial Guard, and [[Robin Hughes (actor)|Robin Hughes]] as [[Jesus]] in a flashback tableau. The narration was provided by an uncredited [[Walter Pidgeon]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=AFI{{!}}Catalog |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/50257 |access-date=17 March 2022 |website=catalog.afi.com}}</ref>

==Production==
===Pre-production===
[[File:Marina Berti-Leo Genn in Quo Vadis trailer.jpg|thumb|right|240px|Screenshot of [[Marina Berti]] & [[Leo Genn]] from the trailer for the film ''Quo Vadis'']]

In the late 1930s, MGM bought the talking-picture rights to the 1896 novel ''Quo Vadis'' from author Henryk Sienkiewicz's heirs. (At the same time they had to buy the 1924 silent-screen version.) The company originally intended to make the film in Italy, but the outbreak of WWII caused it to be postponed. After the war, production was restarted. A lease was obtained on the huge [[Cinecitta]] Studios, eight miles outside Rome, with its 148 acres and nine soundstages.

After months of preparation, the art director, costume designer, and set decorator arrived in Rome in 1948. Construction of the outdoor sets began at once: the huge [[Circus of Nero]] and exterior of Nero's palace, a whole section of Ancient Rome, a great bridge, and the Plautius villa. The manufacture of thousands of costumes for extras began, along with drapes and carpets, metal and glass goblets, and 10 chariots. Official permission was granted to refurbish a section of the [[Appian Way]]. One of Hollywood's foremost animal experts began to procure lions, horses, bulls, and other animals from around Europe. Well in advance of filming, the producer, director, chief cinematographer, and casting director arrived in Rome. The film finally went into production on May 22, 1950.<ref name="Bro" />

===Casting===
[[File:Deborah Kerr 5.jpg|thumb|[[Deborah Kerr]] as Lygia]]
[[File:Leo Genn.jpg|thumb|[[Leo Genn]] as Petronius]]
[[File:Peter Ustinov 2.jpg|thumb|240px|[[Peter Ustinov]] as Nero]]
[[File:Patricia Laffan.jpg|thumb|240px|[[Patricia Laffan]] as Poppaea]]
[[File:Marina Berti (Quo Vadis).jpg|thumb|200px|Publicity photo of [[Marina Berti]] as Eunice]]
[[File:Ringling Museum Lygea tied to the bull by Giuseppe Moretti Sarasota Florida.jpg|thumb|right|Ringling Museum Sarasota, Florida: Bronze statue of Lygea tied to the bull by [[Giuseppe Moretti]] ]]

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 had an uncredited cameo role as a Christian in the Circus prisons.

Although most of the cast was British and a few Italian (Marina Berti, Alfredo Varelli, Roberto Ottaviano), Robert Taylor was certainly not the only American. Others included Buddy Baer (Ursus), Peter Miles (Nazarius), Arthur Walge (Croton), and William Tubbs (Anaxander). Also, several were among the uncredited cast; perhaps the most notable of these was 70-year-old Irish-American character actor [[Richard Garrick]] as the public slave who stands behind Marcus in his [[Roman triumph|Triumph]] chariot, holding a victory laurel above his head, and repeating "Remember thou art only a man." Ustinov recalled how he was cast as Nero in 1949:
"An exciting proposition came my way when I was 28 years old. MGM were going to remake ''Quo Vadis'', and I was a candidate for the role of Nero. [[Arthur Hornblow Jr.|Arthur Hornblow]] [Jr] was to be the producer, and I was tested by [the director] [[John Huston]]. I threw everything I knew into this test, and to my surprise, John Huston did little to restrain me, encouraging me in confidential whispers to be even madder. Apparently the test was a success, but then the huge machine came to a halt, and the project was postponed for a year. At the end of the year, the producer was Sam Zimbalist and the director Mervyn LeRoy. They also approved my test, but warned me in a wire that I might be found to be a little young for the part. I cabled back that if they postponed again, I might be too old, since Nero died at 31. A second cable from them read 'Historical Research Has Proved You Correct Stop The Part Is Yours'.<ref name="Ust">Peter Ustinov: ''Dear Me'' (William Heinmann • London • 1977) pp217-244</ref>

[[Clark Gable]] turned down the role of Marcus Vinicius very early in the film's production history because he thought he would look ridiculous in Roman costumes.

[[Sophia Loren]] appeared in the film as an extra. Italian star Bud Spencer (real name: [[Carlo Pedersoli]]) also had an uncredited extra role as a Praetorian guardsman inside Nero's summer palace at Antium. (He answers Nero, but his voice may be dubbed.)

[[Audrey Hepburn]], still widely unknown when the film was released, was considered for the part of Lygia. Director Mervyn LeRoy wanted to cast her,<ref name="LeRoy">Mervyn LeRoy: ''Take One'' (W H Allen • London • 1974)</ref> but the role went to established MGM contract star Deborah Kerr. Wardrobe stills of her in costume for the film still exist.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Spoto|first1=Donald|title=Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn|date=2006|publisher=Hutchinson|isbn=978-0-09-179655-6|location=London|page=48}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Photo|url=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K1Mw9-Lf1ZA/T-8cUmf5GRI/AAAAAAAAFT8/F3X73lBHA1U/s1600/ah_qv1.jpg|website=2.bp.blogspot.com}}</ref>

Patricia Laffan was selected by the producer and director for the major role of Poppaea after they watched a screen test she made for a smaller part in the film.<ref>"The Life Story of Patricia Laffan" ''[[Picture Show (magazine)|Picture Show]]'' Vol63 No1832, 10 July 1954 ([[Amalgamated Press]], London) p12</ref>

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

<blockquote>Nero ... The way I see him ... He's a guy plays with himself nights.... At the time I thought it a preposterous assessment, but a little later I was not so sure. It was a profundity at its most workaday level, and it led me to the eventual conviction that no nation can make Roman pictures as well as the Americans ... The inevitable vulgarities of the script contributed as much to its authenticity as its rare felicities. I felt then as I feel today, in spite of the carping of critical voices, that ''Quo Vadis'', good or bad according to taste, was an extraordinarily authentic film, and the nonsense Nero was sometimes made to speak was very much like the nonsense Nero probably did speak.<ref name="Ust" /></blockquote>

===Filming===
Produced for $7 million, it was the most expensive film ever made at the time. It became MGM's largest grosser since ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'' (1939). Filmed at the sprawling Cinecitta Studios that had been opened by [[Benito Mussolini]] in 1937 as part of the dictator's master plan to make Rome the pre-eminent world capital. (Mussolini's son [[Vittorio Mussolini]] and Hollywood producer [[Hal Roach]] negotiated to form the R.A.M. ["Roach and Mussolini"] Corporation later in 1937, which was ultimately aborted. This business alliance with the Fascist state horrified 1930s Hollywood moguls and ultimately led to Roach defecting from his MGM distribution deal to [[United Artists]] in 1938.)<ref name="hollywoodreporter/167559">{{cite news |last1=Higgins |first1=Bill |title=BACKLOT: Long before Gadhafi, Mussolini tried to muscle into the movies. |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/80-years-hollywood-reporter-167559/ |access-date=11 August 2024 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=16 March 2011 |quote=80 Years of The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref>

Filming in postwar Italy offered American studios immense facilities and cheap Italian labor and extras, of which thousands were required. Hollywood returned to Cinecitta often, producing many of its biggest spectacles there, including ''[[Helen of Troy (film)|Helen of Troy]]'' (1956), ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' (1959), and ''[[Cleopatra (1963 film)|Cleopatra]]'' (1963), with the latter two dwarfing ''Quo Vadis'' in scale. The studio would later be used by many Italian producers and directors, including [[Federico Fellini]]. The first use of the phrase "[[Hollywood on the Tiber]]", which has come to refer to a golden era of American [[runaway film production]] in Italy, was as the title of a ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' article in the issue dated June 26, 1950, published while ''Quo Vadis'' was being shot in Rome.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wrigley|first1=Richard|title=Cinematic Rome|date=2008|publisher=Troubador|isbn=978-1-906510-28-2|location=Leicester|page=52}}</ref>

Composer Miklós Rózsa said that he wrote most of his score at the Culver City studios while the film was being shot in Italy:

<blockquote>[The] rushes were being sent back to Hollywood for cutting at the same time as they were being cut back in Rome ... I set to work so that at least something was ready, even if it had to be modified later. I worked with the chief supervising editor, [[Margaret Booth]], whose technical knowledge is incomparable ... Finally, the Rome contingent arrived home with their version. It wasn't so very different from the one that Margaret had put together, and there were no insuperable problems. Sam Zimbalist was amazed and delighted that I had all the music ready in three weeks, thanks to the work Margaret and I had already done.<ref name="Roz">Miklos Rozsa: ''Double Life'' (The Baton Press • Tunbridge Wells, UK • 1982) pp144-155/p216.</ref></blockquote>

Ten Italian locations were used in the film. With the exception of the [[Appian Way|Via Appia]],<ref name="Bro" /> most of these have not been identified, but the final stage of the chariot chase was filmed along the 2000-year-old ''Viale dei Cipressi'' (Avenue of Cypresses) near the village [[Bolgheri]]. This landmark in [[Province of Livorno|Livorno Province, Tuscany]], is easily recognizable.<ref>"The cypress tree-lined road of Bolgheri" on YouTube</ref>

In the summer of 1950, when ''Quo Vadis'' was in production, Rome was in the grip of an intense heatwave, as Peter Ustinov recalled: "Rome was in the throes of [[Holy Year]], and bursting with pilgrims. It was also one of the hottest summers on record."<ref name="Ust" /> The heat affected not only the cast and crew, but also the lions. Mervyn LeRoy recalled that because of the heat, the lions were reluctant to enter the arena.<ref name="LeRoy" />

Due to equipment shortages in Italy, MGM had to import a reported two hundred tons of generators, lights and other electrical equipment from [[Culver City]].<ref>Steinhart, Daniel. (2019). ''Runaway Hollywood: Internationalizing Postwar Production and Location Shooting''. University of California Press. p. 90. {{ISBN|978-0-52-029864-4}}.</ref>
The film holds the record for the most costumes used in one movie: 32,000.<ref name="Bro" />

At one point in the film, Nero shows his court a scale model illustrating his plans for the rebuilding of Rome as a new city to be called Neropolis. Studio publicity claimed that this was the model of Ancient Rome housed in the [[Museum of Roman Civilization]] and that it had been borrowed from the Italian government.<ref name="Bro">''M-G-M presents Quo Vadis'' (original film brochure • 20 pages, including covers) [ 1951 ]</ref> (This was originally constructed by Mussolini's government for a 1937 exhibition of Roman architecture.)<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wyke|first1=Maria|title=Projecting the Past: Ancient Rome, Cinema, and History|date=1997|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|isbn=978-0-415-90614-2|page=140|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4vIHMdmVwtEC&q=%22Quo%20Vadis%22%20mostra&pg=PA140|access-date=5 April 2012|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kelly|first1=Christopher|title=The Roman Empire: A Very Short Introduction |date=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-280391-7|page=128|edition=1st|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ixUePMNx8BkC&q=%22Quo%20Vadis%22%20mostra&pg=PA128|access-date=5 April 2012|language=en}}</ref> However, the museum model is of fourth-century Rome, not of first-century Rome as it would have looked when rebuilt after the Great Fire of AD 64. The screen model looks nothing like the museum model. (It was almost certainly constructed especially for the film – perhaps by its special effects model-maker, [[Donald Jahraus]].)

[[Anthony Mann]] worked on the film as an uncredited second-unit director.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boxwell |first=David |title=Mann, Anthony – Senses of Cinema |url=https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2003/great-directors/mann_anthony/ |access-date=17 March 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> He spent 24 nights (four working weeks) on the Cinecitta backlot shooting scenes for the Burning of Rome sequence. However, he was not the co-director of the film, as some of his admirers have claimed.<ref>Jeanine Basinger: ''Anthony Mann'' (Wesleyan University Press • Middletown, Conn • 1979/2007) p. 11</ref> The soundstage scenes for the same sequence were directed by Mervyn LeRoy.<ref name="Ust" />

==Reception==
===Box-office performance===
[[File:Quovadis-sept1953-movieposter-jpnmag.jpg|thumb|right|The 1953 Japanese theatrical release poster]]

The film was a major commercial success. It was [[List of 1951 box office number-one films in the United States|number one at the US box office]] for 6 consecutive weeks<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=National Boxoffice Survey|date=9 January 1952|page=3|url=https://archive.org/details/variety185-1952-01/page/n296/mode/1up|access-date=25 February 2023|via=[[Archive.org]]}}</ref> and 11 weeks in total. According to MGM's records, during its initial theatrical release, it earned $11,143,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $9,894,000 elsewhere, making it the highest-grossing film of 1951, and resulting in a profit to the studio of $5,440,000.

===Critical reaction===
[[Bosley Crowther]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote in a mixed review, "Here is a staggering combination of cinema brilliance and sheer banality, of visual excitement and verbal boredom, of historical pretentiousness and sex." Crowther thought that even [[Cecil B. DeMille]]'s ''[[The Sign of the Cross (1932 film)|The Sign of the Cross]]'' "had nothing to match the horrendous and morbid spectacles of human brutality and destruction that Director Mervyn LeRoy has got in this. But within and around these visual triumph and rich imagistic displays is tediously twined a hackneyed romance that threatens to set your teeth on edge."<ref>Crowther, Bosley (9 November 1951). [https://www.nytimes.com/1951/11/09/archives/the-screen-two-new-movies-shown-here-darling-how-could-you-from.html "'QuoVadis,' Based on Sienkiewicz Novel and Made in Rome, Opens at Two Theatres".] ''[[The New York Times]]''. 22.</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote that the film was "right up there with ''[[The Birth of a Nation|Birth of a Nation]]'' and ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone With the Wind]]'' for box-office performance. It has size, scope, splash, and dash, giving for the first time in a long while credence to the now-clichéd 'super-colossal' term. This is a super-spectacle in all its meaning."<ref>"Film Reviews: Quo Vadis". ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''. 14 November 1951. 6.</ref> Edwin Schallert of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' declared it "one of the most tremendous if not the greatest pictures ever made ... Its pictorial lavishness has never been equaled in any other production."<ref>Schallert, Edwin (30 November 1951). "'Quo Vadis' Triumphant As Great Film Spectacle". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Part I, p. 26.</ref> [[Richard L. Coe]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called it "a fabulously entertaining movie. Though the expansive, expensive film from the celebrated novel runs over three hours on the Palace screen, you won't believe you've been there nearly that long."<ref>Coe, Richard L. (26 December 1951). "The Writers Rate 'Quo Vadis' Bows". ''[[The Washington Post]]''. B8.</ref> ''[[Harrison's Reports]]'' declared, "For sheer opulence, massiveness of sets, size of cast, and beauty of Technicolor photography, no picture ever produced matches 'Quo Vadis'. It is a super-collosal [sic] spectacle in every sense of the meaning, and on that score alone it is worth a premium price of admission."<ref>"'Quo Vadis' with Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr and Peter Ustinov". ''[[Harrison's Reports]]''. 17 November 1951. 182.</ref> ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' was negative, writing that the film "demonstrates how inordinately boring the convention of size and spectacle can be, when divorced from taste, feeling, and, to a surprising extent, creative talent. The film is unimaginatively directed, at a very slow pace in keeping with the general larger than life proportions, and its technical qualities are not impressive."<ref>{{cite journal |date=March 1952 |title=Quo Vadis |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=19 |issue=218 |page=32 }}</ref>

The film holds a score of 83% on ''[[Rotten Tomatoes]]'' based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 6.40/10.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1017021_quo_vadis|title=Quo Vadis|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=19 April 2019}}</ref>

===Awards and nominations===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="8" | [[24th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Motion Picture]]
| [[Sam Zimbalist]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="8" | <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1952 |title=The 24th Academy Awards (1952) Nominees and Winners |publisher=Oscars.org [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=19 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706093825/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/24th-winners.html |archive-date=6 July 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><br><ref>{{cite web |last=Murphy |first=Mekado |url=http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/39930/Quo-Vadis/awards |title=Quo-Vadis – Cast, Crew, Director and Awards |access-date=11 February 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307232412/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/39930/Quo-Vadis/awards |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2016 |archive-date=7 March 2016}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| [[Leo Genn]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Peter Ustinov]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Art Direction – Color]]
| Art Direction: [[William A. Horning]], [[Cedric Gibbons]], and [[Edward Carfagno]];<br> Set Decoration: [[Hugh Hunt]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography – Color]]
| [[Robert Surtees (cinematographer)|Robert Surtees]] and [[William V. Skall]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design – Color]]
| [[Herschel McCoy]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]]
| [[Ralph E. Winters]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture]]
| [[Miklós Rózsa]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[4th Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures]]
| [[Mervyn LeRoy]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" | <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1950s/1951.aspx?value=1951 |title=4th Annual DGA Awards |publisher=[[Directors Guild of America Awards]] |access-date=19 February 2024}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3" | [[9th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2" | [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="3" | <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/quo-vadis |title=Quo Vadis |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=17 March 2022}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture]]
| Peter Ustinov
| {{won}}
|-
| Best Cinematography – Color
| Robert Surtees and William V. Skall
| {{won}}
|-
| [[International Film Music Critics Association|International Film Music Critics Association Awards]]
| [[International Film Music Critics Association Award for Best New Archival Release of an Existing Score – Re-Release or Re-Recording|Best Archival Re-Recording of an Existing Score]]
| Miklós Rózsa {{small|(composer)}};<br> Nic Raine {{small|(conductor)}};<br> James Fitzpatrick and Luc Van De Ven {{small|(producers)}};<br> Ginko Digi {{small|(art director)}};<br> Frank K. DeWald {{small|(liner notes)}}
| {{won}}
| align="center" | <ref>{{cite web |url=http://filmmusiccritics.org/awards-archive/2012-ifmca-awards/ |title=2012 IFMCA Awards |publisher=[[International Film Music Critics Association]] |date=27 February 2013 |access-date=18 December 2021}}</ref>
|-
| [[National Board of Review Awards 1951|National Board of Review Awards]]
| colspan="2" | [[National Board of Review: Top Ten Films|Top 10 Films]]
| {{draw|9th Place}}
| align="center" | <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1951/ |title=1951 Award Winners |publisher=[[National Board of Review]] |access-date=19 February 2024}}</ref>
|}

==Music==
The music score by Miklós Rózsa<ref name="FSM">{{Cite web|title=FSM: Quo Vadis (Miklós Rózsa)|url=https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/notes/quo_vadis.html}}</ref> is notable for its historical authenticity. Since no Ancient Roman music had survived, Rózsa incorporated a number of fragments of Ancient Greek and Jewish melodies such as the [[Seikilos epitaph]], the ''Hymn to Nemesis'' and ''Hymn to the Sun'' by [[Mesomedes]]<ref name="Vendries">{{cite journal |last1=Vendries |first1=Christophe |title=La musique de la Rome antique dans le péplum hollywoodien (1951–1963) |journal=Mélanges de l'École française de Rome – Antiquité |date=29 April 2015 |issue=127–1 |doi=10.4000/mefra.2791 |url=https://journals.openedition.org/mefra/2791#tocto2n8 |access-date=19 July 2022 |language=fr |issn=0223-5102}}</ref> into his own choral-orchestral score.<ref name="Roz" />
* In 1950, before film production began, Rózsa made prerecordings of numerous fanfares, marches, songs and dances with the M-G-M Studio Orchestra in [[Culver City, California|Culver City]], and these survive. In 1951, he recorded the full score at M-G-M's British studios with the [[Royal Philharmonic Orchestra]], but these recordings were reportedly lost later on in a fire at the Culver City studios. However, 'dubdowns' of all of those recordings that were used in the film (about two-thirds with added sound effects) do survive. In 1951, [[MGM Records]] issued gramophone discs, in three different editions and speeds, of 12 tracks from the original soundtrack music (without sound effects). Consequently, much of the original recorded score is still available in various formats.<ref name="FSM" /> In 2009, [[Film Score Monthly]] collected and issued these elements on two CDs.<ref>''Miklos Rozsa Treasury'' (Audio CD • FSM Box 4 • 2009)</ref>
* In 1963, MGM Records brought out a stereo compilation of excerpts from Rózsa's film scores played by the Symphony Orchestra of Rome, conducted by Rózsa and [[Carlo Savina]].<ref>''Great Movie Themes composed by Miklos Rozsa'' (Vinyl LP • M-G-M E-SE-4112 • 1963)</ref> Rózsa conducted the Triumphal March.<ref name="Roz" />
* In 1967, Rózsa conducted the [[Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra]] in a stereo compilation of excerpts from his epic film scores. This included three selections from ''Quo Vadis''.<ref>''Miklos Rozsa – Epic Film Scores'' (Vinyl LP • Capitol ST2837 • 1967)</ref>
* In 1977, Rózsa made a stereo recording of 12 selections from his score, once again conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.<ref>''Quo Vadis – Miklos Rozsa'' (Vinyl LP • Decca PFS4430 • 1977)</ref>
* In 2012, Nic Raine, conducting the [[City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra]], recorded the entire score (a total of 38 tracks on two CDs). This included several pieces of music that were originally recorded by Rózsa, but not used on the film's soundtrack.<ref>''Quo Vadis – Miklos Rozsa: world premiere recording of the complete film score'' (Audio CD • Prometheus Records • 2012)</ref>

At the end of the film, a triumphal march heralds the success of the armies of the new emperor, [[Galba]]. This theme would be reused by Rózsa in ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]'' (1959) as the brief "Bread and Circuses March" preceding "The Parade of the Charioteers", prior to the famous [[Ben-Hur (1959 film)#Chariot race sequence|chariot race]].<ref>''Ben-Hur – Miklos Rozsa: original motion picture soundtrack'' (Audio CD • Sony Music • 1996)</ref>

In his 1982 autobiography, Miklós Rózsa expressed his regret at the way his score was handled by producer Sam Zimbalist, 'a dear personal friend': "[He] didn't use the music in any way as effectively as he might have done. After all the trouble I went to, much of my work was swamped by sound effects, or played at such a low level as to be indistinguishable ... It was a great disappointment to me." However, he was mistaken when he wrote: "''Quo Vadis'', because it was produced abroad, was completely boycotted by Hollywood and received no Academy nominations."<ref name="Roz" /> Although it did not win any Academy Awards, it did, in fact, receive eight nominations – including one for Rózsa's score.<ref>{{Cite web|date=11 May 2020|title=The 24th Academy Awards (1952)|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1952|publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]}}</ref>

Rózsa's love theme for Lygia ("Lygia") was set to words by Paul Francis Webster and [[Mario Lanza]] sang it for the first time on his radio show broadcast of January 1952.

==Home media==
* A two-disc special edition of the movie was released on DVD in the U.S. on November 11, 2008, after a long photochemical restoration process.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080721005147/en/Quo-Vadis-Two-Disc-Special-Edition-Restored-Remastered |title=Quo Vadis Two-Disc Special Edition: Restored and Remastered Classic Finally Comes to DVD November 11 from WHV |publisher=Business Wire |date=21 July 2008 |access-date=11 February 2017}}</ref>
* A high-definition [[Blu-ray]] version was released March 17, 2009.<ref>{{Citation |last=LeRoy |first=Mervyn |title=Quo Vadis |url=https://www.amazon.com/Quo-Vadis-Blu-ray-Robert-Taylor/dp/B001ECQ6E2 |language=English |access-date=9 March 2022}}</ref>

==Comic-book adaptation==
* ''Thriller Comics'' No 19, July 1952 ([[Amalgamated Press]], London) Full-color photo-cover [image reversed] • 64 pages in black-and-white (Adapted by Joan Whitford • Drawn by [[Geoff Campion]]) [Remarkably faithful to the look of the film. However, apparently for reasons of space, both Marcus' friend Nerva and Petronius' slavegirl Eunice are excised.]<ref>David Ashford and Steve Holland (Eds): ''The Thriller Libraries: The Fleetway Picture Library Index Volume 2'' (Book Palace Books • London • 2010) p146</ref>

==See also==
* [[Epic film]]
* [[List of films set in ancient Rome]]
* [[List of historical drama films]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Quo Vadis (1951 film)}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0043949}}
* [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/quo-vadis-am11264 ''Quo Vadis'' at AllMovie]
* {{TCMDb title|933}}
* {{AFI film|50257}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|1017021_quo_vadis}}
* {{Letterboxd title|quo-vadis|Quo Vadis|(1951 film)}}

{{Quo Vadis (novel)}}
{{Mervyn LeRoy}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1951 films]]
[[Category:American religious epic films]]
[[Category:Depictions of Nero on film]]
[[Category:1950s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films about Christianity]]
[[Category:Films about rebellions]]
[[Category:Epic films based on actual events]]
[[Category:Films based on Quo Vadis]]
[[Category:Films directed by Mervyn LeRoy]]
[[Category:Films set in 1st-century Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Films scored by Miklós Rózsa]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Sonya Levien]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Seneca the Younger]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Poppaea Sabina]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe winning performance]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Saint Peter]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Paul the Apostle]]
[[Category:Films adapted into comics]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films]]
[[Category:1950s American films]]