Quo Vadis

In his memoirs, "Dear Me" (1981), Sir Peter Ustinov recalled that MGM had sought him for the role of Emperor Nero but dithered for months, refusing to commit. During this time, he received numerous telegrams from the studio, one of which stated that they were concerned that he might be too young to play the notorious Roman Emperor. Ustinov replied that Emperor Nero died when he was thirty, and that if they waited much longer, he'd be too old. The studio cabled back: "Historical research has proved you correct. You have the part." Coincidentally (or not), Ustinov was 30 years old when this movie was released.

Marcus Vinicius is angry because the Emperor will not allow him to bring his legion into the city of Rome. Since the early days of the Republic a military commander was forbidden to bring his troops armed into the city of Rome.

The DVD release restores the original overture and exit music, which, up until that point, was only heard in the original roadshow release and in the 1964 roadshow re-release.