In October 1924, as the coffin with the ashes of Henryk Sienkiewicz returned to Poland from Switzerland huge crowds came out to pay their respects for their beloved national writer in cities along the train's route and at the state funeral in Warsaw. This article is an account of the national funeral ceremony which, as it happened, was followed by a six-months' run in Polish cinemas of a recent screen adaptation of Quo Vadis. In Warsaw, however, its showing was suspended after Sienkiewicz's heirs, appalled by the film's lurid scenes, obtained an appropriate court order. The article throws light on that sensational twist and examines all the circumstances — including the functioning of the movie theatre business, publicity, advertisements and press reviews — connected with the arrival of that silent movie spectacular in Poland. The main focus is on the daily newspapers as they were the primary information channel about cinema repertoire for the mass audience.