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QUO VADIS (1912) - U.S. Lobby Card #06
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Item Number: LC-QUOVADIS-LC6
Artist/Photographer: Società Italiana Cines
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Vintage original 11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm.) U.S. lobby card with distributor's paper snipe, very fine condition.
One of the earliest feature-length silent films, Quo Vadis? was produced in Italy in 1912 and directed by Enrico Guazzoni. The image depicts a close interior shot of an old man, wearing tattered clothes, inside a prison cell, holding a piece of bread in his right hand as he is confronted by a beefy well-dressed man. This vintage original lobby card is in very fine condition. As indicated in the lower right corner of the card, the original U.S. distributor of this imported Italian-produced epic was F.B. Warren Corporation, but a paper snipe has been pasted over this area which states Distributed by WID GUNNING, Inc. along with the company's triangular logo. The film was imported for distribution in the U.S. by George Kleine.
This epic silent film version of Quo Vadis?, based upon the novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz, was first filmed in 1902 by Pathé Frères in France. In 1912, Enrico Guazzoni produced for the Italian film company, Cines, this nine-reel film version which ran for 120 minutes. Up to then, no film longer than two reels (24 minutes running time) had been produced. Thus, the 1912 version of Quo Vadis became the first feature-length film ever. Guazzoni built massive sets that fully expressed the flavor of first century Rome. He provided the film with space and largeness of scale, factor that lent it hither unknown verisimilitude and set a standard for historical spectaculars. He employed 3,000 actors and his staging of the crowd scenes was very smooth. In Paris, the film was shown at the Gaumont Palace, the largest theater in the world at the time. The promoters commissioned from composer Jean Nogues a score to accompany the showing of the film. It called for a 150-voice massed choir. In London, the film sold out Albert Hall, which accommodated 20,000 at each showing. In New York City, it had a run of two performances daily for 22 consecutive weeks at the Astor theater where a pipe organ was installed to provide it with musical accompaniment and where patrons paid full theater prices. Twenty-two road companies helped screen the film across the U.S. and Canada. The picture earned $150,000 in America alone. It was shown in premier theaters which were rented for the season. The demand for copies around the world was so great that the Cines Company in Rome was required to keep its staff on a twenty-four hour work shift daily for weeks merely to keep up with the demand. The success of the film was such that it paved the way for the elevation of the cinema to an art form.
Quo Vadis?; Società Italiana Cines (Italy); 1912; dir: Enrico Guazzoni; cast: Amleto Novelli, Gustavo Serena, Amelia Cattaneo, Carlo Cattaneo, Lea Giunchi, Augusto Mastripietri, Caesare Moltini, Olga Brandini, Ignazio Lupi, Giovanni Gizi, Lia Orlandini, Matilde Guilluame, Ida Carloni Talli.
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Rare original release U.S. lobby card from one of the earliest feature-length silent film epics.
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Rare original release U.S. lobby card from one of the earliest feature-length silent film epics.
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Rare original release U.S. lobby card from one of the earliest feature-length silent film epics.
|
Rare original release U.S. lobby card from one of the earliest feature-length silent film epics.
|
Rare original release U.S. lobby card from one of the earliest feature-length silent film epics.
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