Great designs, stultifying acting, cheesy love story

The sets & costumes are beautiful to look at. But, except for Ustinov, who makes an amusing Nero, the acting is terrible. Even the estimable Deborah Kerr is bad. Lead Robert Taylor is his typical wooden self. The empress is a 2-dimensional sneering villainess; Petronius' maid a gushing love-struck cliche. The Vinicius-Lygia love story could've been written by an eighth-grader. Too bad - the movie could've been impressive with better actors and a better script.