Quo Vadis (1951)

Mervyn LeRoy’s adaptation of the 1895 Henryk Sienkiewicz novel is, perhaps, the definitive biblical epic. Cleverly combining both actual historical personages and fictional characters, the film is basically a romance between a Roman centurion (Robert Taylor) and a young Christian girl (Deborah Kerr and never more beautifully photographed) set against the backdrop of Rome under Nero’s (Peter Ustinov) rule. The film is gorgeous and impressive visually. When see we Marcus’s (Taylor) entry into Rome, we’re really seeing a cast of thousands and not some computer generated images of something like GLADIATOR. Alas, the stalwart Taylor and simpering Kerr are uninteresting as characters and the film suffers horribly after the burning of Rome (the film’s major setpiece) when the Christians are at the forefront, suffering nobly and singing psalms. Much more fun are Ustinov, hamming it up as the mad Nero and deliciously too and Patricia Laffan as Poppaea, Nero’s empress, reveling in her wickedness. Miklos Rozsa did the strong score. With Leo Genn (who has an amusing exit), Marina Berti, Felix Aylmer, Finlay Currie, Rosalie Crutchley, Abraham Sofaer, Nora Swinburne and Buddy Baer.