I always wondered what exactly director Mervyn LeRoy tried to achieve with this scene. I believe it was meant to be a sweet scene but with Petronius and others being completely clueless about the slave's feelings at that point in the story, even joking about her, it might come across as someone desperate or even silly to some. Regardless, it's a memorable scene, certainly considering it happens just after Marcus' triumphant and spectacular march in Rome.
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As we commented earlier it was interesting to see they included Marina Berti in that silent role in the 1959 Ben Hur, she is with Ben for a moment in the scene in Rome after the triumph of Quintus Arrius, who adopts Ben. She had a nice role though in QUO VADIS. She was an English actress (1924-2002) based in Rome and had lots of small parts.
Marina is also listed in the cast of Cleopatra, as the Queen of Tarsus. Presumably she's among the guests on Cleopatra's barge, but I must've blinked and missed her, because I cannot see her AT ALL when I watch that film. I think the Petronius-Eunice sub-plot was sadly neglected, what with all that melodrama involving the other characters and the fire.
Marina Berti was an English actress? She spoke with an Italian accent! She seems to have been born in London but I wonder if she actually grew up there. Marina died in Rome and most of her roles were in Italian films.
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