| Photos (See all 24 | slideshow) | Videos (see all 3) |
| Robert Taylor | ... | Marcus Vinicius | |
| Deborah Kerr | ... | Lygia | |
| Leo Genn | ... | Petronius | |
| Peter Ustinov | ... | Nero | |
| Patricia Laffan | ... | Poppaea | |
| Finlay Currie | ... | Peter | |
| Abraham Sofaer | ... | Paul | |
| Marina Berti | ... | Eunice | |
| Buddy Baer | ... | Ursus | |
| Felix Aylmer | ... | Plautius | |
| Nora Swinburne | ... | Pomponia | |
| Ralph Truman | ... | Tigellinus | |
| Norman Wooland | ... | Nerva | |
| Peter Miles | ... | Nazarius | |
| Geoffrey Dunn | ... | Terpnos | |
| Nicholas Hannen | ... | Seneca | |
| D.A. Clarke-Smith | ... | Phaon (as D.A. Clarke - Smith) | |
| Rosalie Crutchley | ... | Acte | |
| John Ruddock | ... | Chilo | |
| Arthur Walge | ... | Croton | |
| Elspeth March | ... | Miriam | |
| Strelsa Brown | ... | Rufia | |
| Alfredo Varelli | ... | Lucan | |
| Roberto Ottaviano | ... | Flavius | |
| William Tubbs | ... | Anaxander | |
| Pietro Tordi | ... | Galba | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Marika Aba | ... | Dancer - Assyrian Dance at Nero's Banquet (uncredited) | |
| Adriano Ambrogi | ... | Wine Bibber (uncredited) | |
| Anna Arena | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Alfred Baillou | ... | Christian Prisoner in Arena (uncredited) | |
| Giacomo Barnas | ... | Senator (uncredited) | |
| Scott R. Beal | ... | Fisherman (uncredited) | |
| John Binns | ... | Officer (uncredited) | |
| Francesca Biondi | ... | Slave Girl (uncredited) | |
| Alice Bishop | ... | Serving Woman (uncredited) | |
| Carlo Borelli | ... | Noble (uncredited) | |
| Leslie Bradley | ... | Hasta - 2nd Praetorian (uncredited) | |
| Alfred Brown | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Phyllis Brown | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Valentino Bruchi | ... | Mirmillon (uncredited) | |
| Rosemary Burt | ... | Banquet Lady (uncredited) | |
| Dante Ciriaci | ... | Wine Bibber (uncredited) | |
| Frank Colson | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Adrienne Corri | ... | Young Christian Girl (uncredited) | |
| Luca Cortese | ... | Old Man (uncredited) | |
| David Craig | ... | Little Boy (uncredited) | |
| Maurice De Bosardi | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Daniel De Jonghe | ... | Apostle (uncredited) | |
| Michael De Krasny | ... | Banquet Man (uncredited) | |
| Liana Del Balzo | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Jack del Rio | ... | Apostle (uncredited) | |
| Lia Di Leo | ... | Pedicurist (uncredited) | |
| Eduardo Di Persis | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Mildred Dudzik | ... | Girl (uncredited) | |
| Gabriella Fabrizio | ... | Child (uncredited) | |
| Franco Fantasia | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Cesare Fasulo | ... | Noble (uncredited) | |
| Al Ferguson | ... | Apostle (uncredited) | |
| Enzo Fiermonte | ... | Mounted Captain (uncredited) | |
| Enrico Formichi | ... | Man with Wine Cup (uncredited) | |
| John Fostini | ... | Young Unbaptized Man (uncredited) | |
| Lydia Fostini | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Dino Galvani | ... | Senator (uncredited) | |
| Richard Garrick | ... | Slave (uncredited) | |
| Gianni Gazzoti | ... | Lydia Guard (uncredited) | |
| Jack George | ... | Fisherman (uncredited) | |
| Carlo Ghisini | ... | Guard (uncredited) | |
| Trudy Glassford | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Joan Griffiths | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Evelyn Guignard | ... | Girl (uncredited) | |
| Robin Hughes | ... | Christ (voice) (uncredited) | |
| Adam Jennette | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Philip Kieffer | ... | Apostle (uncredited) | |
| Gipsy Kiss | ... | Slave Girl (uncredited) | |
| Lee Kresel | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Richard Larke | ... | Guard (uncredited) | |
| Sophia Loren | ... | Lygia's Slave (uncredited) | |
| Giovanni Lovatelli | ... | Banquet Man (uncredited) | |
| Helena Makowska | ... | Older Woman (uncredited) | |
| Anna Mancini | ... | Nubian Slave Girl (uncredited) | |
| Michael Mark | ... | Fisherman (uncredited) | |
| Clelia Matania | ... | Parmenida (uncredited) | |
| Richard McNamara | ... | Legionnaire (uncredited) | |
| Harriet Medin | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Dario Michaelis | ... | Lydia Guard (uncredited) | |
| Ernesto Morelli | ... | Fisherman (uncredited) | |
| John Myhers | ... | Guard (uncredited) | |
| Vincent Neptune | ... | Apostle (uncredited) | |
| Attillio Olivo | ... | Servant (uncredited) | |
| Riette Osborne | ... | Banquet Lady (uncredited) | |
| Anna Maria Padoan | ... | Young Unbaptized Woman (uncredited) | |
| Riccardo Pantellini | ... | Guard (uncredited) | |
| Louis Payne | ... | Apostle (uncredited) | |
| Walter Pidgeon | ... | Narrator (voice) (uncredited) | |
| Aldo Pini | ... | Headkeeper (uncredited) | |
| Alberto Plebani | ... | Steward (uncredited) | |
| Michael Proben | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Dino Raffaelli | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| George Restive | ... | Apostle (uncredited) | |
| Kenneth Richards | ... | Guard (uncredited) | |
| Alfredo Rizzo | ... | Hairdresser (uncredited) | |
| Giuseppe Rodi | ... | Schipio (uncredited) | |
| Leonardo Scavino | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Joseph Sebaroli | ... | Marcus Guard (uncredited) | |
| Alessandro Serbaroli | ... | Officer (uncredited) | |
| Jurek Shabelewski | ... | Faun (uncredited) | |
| John Sleeter | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Lujo Sostarich | ... | Charon (uncredited) | |
| Armando Spaccarelli | ... | Guard (uncredited) | |
| Bud Spencer | ... | Imperial Guard (uncredited) | |
| Jane Sprague | ... | Banquet Lady (uncredited) | |
| Raffaele Tana | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Elizabeth Taylor | ... | Christian Prisoner in Arena (uncredited) | |
| William Taylor | ... | Guard Captain / Marcus Guard (uncredited) | |
| Michael Tor | ... | Centurian (uncredited) | |
| Giuseppe Tosi | ... | Wrestler (uncredited) | |
| Carlo Tricoli | ... | Apostle (uncredited) | |
| Renato Valente | ... | Guard (uncredited) | |
| Scilla Vannucci | ... | White Slave Girl (uncredited) | |
| Giuseppe Varni | ... | Hairdresser (uncredited) | |
| Dianora Veiga | ... | Slave Girl (uncredited) | |
| Harry J. Vejar | ... | Fisherman (uncredited) | |
| Benjamin Wilkes | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Maria Zanoli | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Mervyn LeRoy | |||
| Anthony Mann | (uncredited) | ||
Writing credits | ||
| John Lee Mahin | (screenplay) and | |
| S.N. Behrman | (screenplay) & | |
| Sonya Levien | (screenplay) | |
| Henryk Sienkiewicz | (novel) | |
| Hugh Gray | contributing writer (uncredited) | |
Produced by | |||
| Sam Zimbalist | .... | producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Miklós Rózsa | (as Miklos Rozsa) | ||
Cinematography by | |||
| William V. Skall | (director of photography) | ||
| Robert Surtees | (director of photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Ralph E. Winters | (film editor) | ||
Casting by | |||
| Mel Ballerino | (uncredited) | ||
| Irene Howard | (uncredited) | ||
Art Direction by | |||
| Edward C. Carfagno | (as Edward Carfagno) | ||
| Cedric Gibbons | |||
| William A. Horning | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Hugh Hunt | |||
| Elso Valentini | (uncredited) | ||
Costume Design by | |||
| Herschel McCoy | (costumes: recreated by) | ||
Makeup Department | |||
| Sydney Guilaroff | .... | hair styles recreator | |
| Joan Johnstone | .... | hair styles recreator | |
| Charles E. Parker | .... | makeup supervisor | |
Production Management | |||
| Mack D'Agostino | .... | assistant production manager (uncredited) | |
| Henry Henigson | .... | production manager (uncredited) | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Peter Bolton | .... | assistant director (uncredited) | |
| Sergio Leone | .... | second unit director (uncredited) | |
| Anthony Mann | .... | second assistant director (uncredited) | |
Art Department | |||
| Mentor Huebner | .... | storyboard artist (uncredited) | |
| Italo Tomassi | .... | set designer (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| Douglas Shearer | .... | recording supervisor | |
| Piero Cavazzuti | .... | assistant soundman (uncredited) | |
| Robert B. Lee | .... | sound (uncredited) | |
Special Effects by | |||
| A. Arnold Gillespie | .... | special effects (as A.Arnold Gillespie) | |
| Tom Howard | .... | special effects (as Thomas Howard) | |
| Donald Jahraus | .... | special effects | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Peter Ellenshaw | .... | matte artist (uncredited) | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Fenton Hamilton | .... | head electrician (uncredited) | |
| Arthur Lemming | .... | assistant camera (uncredited) | |
| Leo Monlon | .... | grip (uncredited) | |
| George Pink | .... | camera operator (uncredited) | |
| John Schmitz | .... | camera operator (uncredited) | |
Casting Department | |||
| Rino Guidi | .... | casting assistant (uncredited) | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Herschel McCoy | .... | costumes recreated by | |
| Joan Joseff | .... | costume jeweller (uncredited) | |
Music Department | |||
| Hugh Gray | .... | lyric compositions | |
| Eugene Zador | .... | orchestrator (uncredited) | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Eddie Frewin | .... | unit driver (uncredited) | |
Other crew | |||
| Hugh Gray | .... | historical adviser | |
| Henri Jaffa | .... | Technicolor color consultant | |
| Auriel Millos | .... | choreography | |
| Marta Obolensky | .... | choreography | |
| Howard Dietz | .... | director of publicity (uncredited) | |
| Ben Goetz | .... | liaison: M-G-M British (uncredited) | |
| Morgan Hudgins | .... | unit publicist (uncredited) | |
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| Ben-Hur | Samson and Delilah | Gladiator | The Fall of the Roman Empire | Solomon and Sheba |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Drama section | IMDb USA section |
I first saw this film as a re-run in 1964--on the big screen. Much is lost, I think, when viewing it on television. Peter Ustinov's portrayal of the emperor Nero raises the bar for anyone else who is ever cast as an unbalanced and corrupt Roman emperor. Certainly, we don't see this style or quality of acting in newer films such as "Gladiator." I focus on the "Nero" character more than others because Ustinov was truly able to get inside the role, and appeared to stay very focused. Robert Taylor was fine in the movie, but his role could have been handled by nearly any leading man of the time. Ditto for Deborah Kerr. The remaining cast was very, very good. The set designs and costumes were sheer artistry and the score was effective and complimentary. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in spectacles and studying fine acting techniques (i.e., Ustinov's).