Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)

Director:

Fred Niblo
(more)

Writers:

Lew Wallace (novel)
June Mathis (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

8 October 1927 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The Picture Every Christian Ought to See!

Plot:

Erstwhile childhood friends, Judah Ben-Hur and Messala meet again as adults, this time with Roman officer Messala as conqueror and Judah as a wealthy...

Plot Keywords:

Revenge | Vamp | Anti Semitism | Affection | Sea Battle

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Ramon Novarro	...	Judah Ben-Hur
Francis X. Bushman	...	Messala
May McAvoy	...	Esther
Betty Bronson	...	Mary
Claire McDowell	...	Princess of Hur
Kathleen Key	...	Tirzah
Carmel Myers	...	Iras
Nigel De Brulier	...	Simonides
Mitchell Lewis	...	Sheik Ilderim
Leo White	...	Sanballat
Frank Currier	...	Quintus Arrius
Charles Belcher	...	Balthazar
Dale Fuller	...	Amrah
Winter Hall	...	Joseph
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Reginald Barker	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
John Barrymore	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Lionel Barrymore	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Clarence Brown	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Gilbert Clayton	...	Extra (uncredited)
Gary Cooper	...	Extra (uncredited)
Joan Crawford	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Marion Davies	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
William Donovan	...	Extra (uncredited)
Ray Erlenborn	...	Extra (uncredited)
Douglas Fairbanks	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
George Fitzmaurice	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Sidney Franklin	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Clark Gable	...	Extra (uncredited)
Rosita Garcia	...	Slave Girl (uncredited)
Janet Gaynor	...	Slave Girl (uncredited)
John Gilbert	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Dorothy Gish	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Lillian Gish	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Samuel Goldwyn	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Harry Gordon	...	Centurion (uncredited)
Sid Grauman	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
William Green	...	Extra (uncredited)
Joyzelle Joyner	...	Slave Girl (unconfirmed) (uncredited)
Rupert Julian	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Henry King	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Harold Lloyd	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Carole Lombard	...	Slave Girl (uncredited)
Myrna Loy	...	Slave Girl (uncredited)
Cliff Lyons	...	Chariot driver (uncredited)
Mickey Millerick	...	Extra (uncredited)
Carlotta Monti	...	Slave Girl (uncredited)
Colleen Moore	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Claude Payton	...	Jesus (uncredited)
Mary Pickford	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Sally Rand	...	Slave Girl (unconfirmed) (uncredited)
Leonora Summers	...	Extra (uncredited)
Tom Tyler	...	Chariot driver (uncredited)
Fay Wray	...	Slave Girl (unconfirmed) (uncredited)
Christiane Yves	...	Hedonist (uncredited)

Directed by
Fred Niblo
Charles Brabin		(uncredited)
Christy Cabanne		(uncredited)
J.J. Cohn		(uncredited)
Rex Ingram		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Lew Wallace		(novel) (as General Lew Wallace)
June Mathis		(adaptation)
Carey Wilson		(scenario)
Carey Wilson		(continuity) and
Bess Meredyth		(continuity)
Katherine Hilliker		(titles) (as Katharine Hilliker) and
H.H. Caldwell		(titles)

Produced by
J.J. Cohn	....	producer (uncredited)
Samuel Goldwyn	....	producer (uncredited)
Louis B. Mayer	....	producer (uncredited)
Irving Thalberg	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Carl Davis		(1987)
William Axt		(uncredited)
David Mendoza		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Clyde De Vinna		(as Clyde DeVinna)
René Guissart
Percy Hilburn
Karl Struss
Glenn Kershner		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Lloyd Nosler

Casting by
Robert McIntyre		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Horace Jackson		(uncredited)
Harry Oliver		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Cedric Gibbons		(settings)
Horace Jackson		(settings)
Edwin B. Willis		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Max Factor	....	body makeup artist (uncredited)
George Westmore	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Liz Sutherland	....	production manager (1987 restored version)
Harry E. Edington	....	production manager (uncredited)
Dave Friedman	....	unit production manager (uncredited)
Lawrence Marston	....	production supervisor (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles Stallings	....	assistant director
Silas Clegg	....	assistant director (uncredited)
B. Reeves Eason	....	second unit director (uncredited)
Henry Hathaway	....	assistant director (uncredited)
William Wyler	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Ferdinand P. Earle	....	art effects
Carl Bolzic	....	plasterer (uncredited)
Ferdinand P. Earle	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
A. Arnold Gillespie	....	set designer (uncredited)
Harold Grieve	....	set designer (uncredited)
Andrew MacDonald	....	set constructor (uncredited)
Camillo Mastrocinque	....	art director: Italy (uncredited)
E.H. Tate	....	painter (uncredited)
C.F. Wilhelm	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Dave Evans	....	dubbing editor: 1987 restored version
Mike Fairbairn	....	dubbing editor: 1987 restored version

Visual Effects by
Paul Eagler	....	trick photography (uncredited)
Ferdinand P. Earle	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Kenneth Gordon MacLean	....	miniatures (uncredited)
Frank D. Williams	....	traveling matte shots (uncredited)

Stunts
Frank McGrath	....	stunt performer
B. Reeves Eason	....	stunt coordinator (uncredited)
Buster Gallagher	....	stunt double: Ramon Novarro (uncredited)
Mickey Millerick	....	stunts (uncredited)
David Sharpe	....	stunts (uncredited)
Spike Spackman	....	stunts (uncredited)
Tom Tyler	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Silvano Balboni	....	camera operator (uncredited)
John W. Boyle	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Edoardo Bragaglia	....	still photographer: Rome (uncredited)
Paul Ivano	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)
Donald Biddle Keyes	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Louis Kolb	....	chief electrician (uncredited)
Ruth Harriet Louise	....	still photographer (uncredited)
D.W. Martinelli	....	additional photographer (uncredited)
George Meehan	....	camera operator (uncredited)
George Gordon Nogle	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
E. Burton Steene	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mrs. E.F. Chaffin	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)
Erté	....	costumes: Carmel Myers (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Renata Bernabei	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Irene Coletta	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
William Holmes	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Ben Lewis	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Harry Reynolds	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Aubrey Scotto	....	assistant editor (uncredited)
Basil Wrangell	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Edward Bowes	....	composer: theme music
Richard Bradford	....	music recordist: restored version
Carl Davis	....	conductor: new score
Colin Matthews	....	orchestrator: Carl Davis
Maurice Baron	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Charles B. Dillingham	....	producer: stage version
B. Reeves Eason	....	associate director (as Reeves Eason)
Abraham L. Erlanger	....	producer: stage version
Alfred Raboch	....	associate director (as Alfred L. Raboch)
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.	....	producer: stage version
Colonel Braden	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Ferdinand P. Earle	....	director: Nativity scene (uncredited)
Henry Hathaway	....	assisitant: Mr. Eason (uncredited)
Herbert Howe	....	publicist: Mr. Novarro (uncredited)
Mrs. M.F. Lee	....	script reader (uncredited)
John M. Nickolaus	....	laboratory supervisor (uncredited)
Emma Peterson	....	set medic (uncredited)
Miss Remington	....	copyist (uncredited)
Miss Underwood	....	copyist (uncredited)
William Wyler	....	assisitant: Mr. Eason (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1925) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universum Film (UFA) (1926) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Ufanamet (1926) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1931) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Critics' Choice Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Movies Unlimited (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Finland) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Harper and Brothers  novel published and copyrighted by
• London Philharmonic Orchestra  orchestra (restored version)
• Theaterkunst Hermann J. Kaufmann  costumes

Also Known As:

Ben-Hur (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

143 min | Germany:151 min (restored version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (2-strip Technicolor) (some sequences) | Black and White (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Finland:S | Ireland:G | UK:PG | Norway:A | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Anzio, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Future stars Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, and Myrna Loy were uncredited extras in the chariot race scenes. Crawford and Loy also played slave girls.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Ben Hur first sees Jesus and is given water, Jesus seems to be standing upright, but the arm giving Ben Hur the water seems to be be coming from originating from around his knee.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood Remembers: Myrna Loy - So Nice to Come Home to (1991) (TV)

Captivating silent epic

This much lesser-known version of the Ben-Hur story from 1925 was the most expensive silent film ever made and benefits greatly from MGM's ability at the time to make films that looked amazingly grand and epic and still somehow manage to today. Even after seeing William Wyler's 1959 version and even with the advancements of modern CGI, the 83 year old "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ" still looks unbelievably impressive with its massive sets and thousands of extras.

The mythos that has surrounded "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ" among film buffs over the years has reached a status almost as grand as the film itself. The deaths, bribes, and other stories surrounding the movie and in particular the famous chariot race sequence do nothing to detract from the film (although they do distract one from it) but instead increase one's fascination with the production. I'm not sure if there are any comprehensive books written on the film but I must seek one out eventually.

The story doesn't need to be discussed because everyone knows it. It's an entertaining story that's really quite hard to do wrong and this movie is more entertaining and exciting than any other version I've seen. The theatricality demanded from silent film enhances the nature and feel of the story.

This film was directed by Fred Niblo, famous for the Douglas Fairbanks vehicles "The Mark of Zorro" and the inferior "The Three Musketeers" and also director of several memorable silent films such as Greta Garbo vehicles "The Temptress" and "The Mysterious Lady" as well as "The Red Lily", an absolutely brilliant film by 1924 standards that is sadly hard to get a hold of (except on Turner Classic Movies which shows it on occasion). Niblo lost his way in the sound era but is on top form here directing this massive production. Of course, the chariot race deserves all its fame and recognition and remains exciting, vibrant, and captivating to this day.

The restoration on the DVD released in the four-DVD set released in celebration of the 1959 film is spectacular as usual from the Turner team with the original (and well-chosen) tints and the exceptional Technicolor sequences restored. The film is in the public domain so I expect there must be some form of cheap black & white only copy which I urge anybody reading this to avoid watching. Another reason to watch this restored version is the terrific score by Carl Davis performed by the London Philharmonic orchestra.

As good as William Wyler and Charlton Heston are, I'll take this Fred Niblo and Ramon Novarro over the 1959 version any day. A thrilling, captivating silent epic and one of the great silent American films.

9/10