Quo Vadis (1924)

Quo Vadis movie storyline. In Rome, during the reign of Nero, a young pagan general named Marcus Vinicius falls in love with a beautiful Christian hostage named Licia. Their love appears to be impossible, because of the conflict of their religions. Nero burns the city of Rome and blames the Christians, already hated by the pagan Romans.

Quo Vadis is a 1924 Italian silent historical film directed by Gabriellino D’Annunzio and Georg Jacoby and starring Emil Jannings, Elena Sangro and Lillian Hall-Davis. It is based on the 1896 novel Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz which was notably later adapted into a 1951 film.

The film was produced by the ambitious Unione Cinematografica Italiana. D’Annunzio, the son of the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio, was considered a rising director and also wrote the film’s screenplay. It was one of several attempts in early Fascist Italy to recapture the success of the historical epics of the previous decade. Rudolph Valentino was invited to star in the film, but was forced to turn the offer down due to contractual reasons. Production quickly became troubled – the film ran seriously over-budget, and additional financing had to be raised from Germany. The new backers insisted that a German director, Jacoby, be appointed to co-direct.

Directed by: Gabriellino D’Annunzio, Georg Jacoby
Starring: Emil Jannings, Elena Sangro, Lillian Hall-Davis, Rina De Liguoro, Andrea Habay, Raimondo Van Riel, Gildo Bocci, Gino Viotti, Alfons Fryland, Elga Brink, Bruto Castellani, Arnold Kent, Marcella Sabbatini, Lucia Zanussi
Screenplay by: Gabriellino D’Annunzio, Georg Jacoby
Cinematography by: Curt Courant, Alfredo Donelli, Giovanni Vitrotti
Set Decoration by: R. Ferro, G. Spellani
Music by: Cecil Copping
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Unione Cinematografica Italiana (Italy), First National Pictures (United States)
Release Date: October 1924 (Austria and Germany), February 15, 1925 (United States)