Mankiewicz even considered Paul Scofield for the role of Mark Antony if Brando's screen test was unsuccessful. Houseman says they 'decided to do it as a small production, not a spectacle to do it for what it really is-the drama of a political power play.' Casting īrando's casting was met with some skepticism when it was announced, as he had acquired the nickname of 'The Mumbler' following his performance in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). Many of the sets and costumes were repurposed from Quo Vadis (1951), with several setpieces deconstructed, flown from Rome to California, and rebuilt on MGM's Culver City studio backlot. Though Houseman originally intended to shoot the film in Italy, production ultimately took place in Los Angeles instead. Houseman says MGM wanted to make the film in color but he and Mankiewicz refused, 'partly because we wanted people to relate to the newsreels, to the Fascist movements in Europe, which were still relevant' and also because they would be 'using a lot of the Quo Vadis sets, and it seemed idiotic to invite comparison with Quo Vadis.' 'If it was going to be cast all-English, it should be an English picture, made in England and we might as well forget about it.' 'I'd done a lot of Shakespeare in America,' he said.

Houseman did not want to use an all-British cast. Mankiewicz to direct because he thought he and William Wyler were 'probably the two best dialogue directors in the business' and that Mankiewicz was 'younger and more flexible.'

MGM's head of production Dore Schary offered the project to Houseman, who said he wanted Joseph L. Producer John Houseman says the film was made because Laurence Olivier's 1944 production of Henry V had been a success.

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