Quo Vadis

Quo Vadis is set in Rome during the first century AD, where the victorious commander Marcus Vinicius falls for Lygia, a Christian woman held as a slave. Her faith keeps her at a distance from a man of war, and he obtains her from Emperor Nero as a reward for his military service. Their relationship unfolds against the growing persecution of Christians in the city, while Nero's increasingly erratic rule leads him to burn Rome and place the blame on the Christian community, condemning many of them to die in the arena. The film follows Marcus as he is drawn into their world and comes to question the emperor he serves.

Mervyn LeRoy directed the production for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, working from a screenplay by John Lee Mahin, S. N. Behrman and Sonya Levien, with Sam Zimbalist producing. It was the tenth of the fourteen films LeRoy directed, coming between Little Women and Rose Marie. Robert Taylor and Deborah Kerr lead the cast as the central couple, with Leo Genn as Petronius, Peter Ustinov as Nero, Patricia Laffan as Poppaea and Finlay Currie as Peter. The film runs 174 minutes and carries a large credited cast and crew, reflecting the scale of its production.

Made for 8 million dollars, it returned 24 million worldwide, a strong result that indicates substantial audience interest. On IMDb it holds 7.1 out of 10 from 18,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.1 out of 10 from 470 votes, while the critics' rating stands at 6.5 out of 10 from 19 reviews, somewhat below the audience scores.