Quo Vadis (1925 film)

Quo Vadis or Quo Vadis? is a 1924 Italian silent historical film directed by Gabriellino DAnnunzio and Georg Jacoby and starring Emil Jannings, Elena Sangro and Lillian HallDavis. It is based on the 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. DAnnunzio, the son of the poet Gabriele DAnnunzio, was considered a rising director and also wrote the films 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 overbudget, and additional financing had to be raised from Germany. The new backers insisted that a German director, Jacoby, be appointed to codirect.The film was a critical and commercial failure on its release, effectively ending the career of its producer Arturo Ambrosio who had been one of the major figures of early Italian cinema. In its review the New York Times described it as excellent as spectacle, but is too tedious in many sequences to be a good entertainment. DAnnunzio never directed or wrote another film. Jacobys reputation also suffered heavily, and he switched to working on musicals and comedies. ........

Source: Wikipedia