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

A Jewish prince seeks to find his family and revenge himself upon his childhood friend who had him wrongly imprisoned.

Director:

Fred Niblo

Writers:

Lew Wallace (by), June Mathis (adaptation),

Stars:

Ramon Novarro, Francis X. Bushman, May McAvoy

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited 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 (as Nigel de Brulier)
Mitchell Lewis	...	Sheik Ilderim
Leo White	...	Sanballat
Frank Currier	...	Arrius
Charles Belcher	...	Balthazar
Dale Fuller	...	Amrah
Winter Hall	...	Joseph

Storyline

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, though conquered, Israelite. A slip of a brick during a Roman parade causes Judah to be sent off as a galley slave, his property confiscated and his mother and sister imprisoned. Years later, as a result of his determination to stay alive and his willingness to aid his Roman master, Judah returns to his homeland an exalted and wealthy Roman athlete. Unable to find his mother and sister, and believing them dead, he can think of nothing else than revenge against Messala.

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Plot Keywords:

revenge | jew | chariot race | jewish | judaism | 

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Taglines:

The inspired love of the Prince of Hur for the gentle lovely Esther!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 October 1927 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ben-Hur

Filming Locations:

Anzio, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$3,900,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$9,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min 151 min (restored)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

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

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

All the religious scenes are in Technicolor, but the chariot race is not - an intense amount of lighting was required to shoot Technicolor, making it extremely difficult.

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Goofs

The position of the body of the charioteer killed in the training session at Sheik Ilderim's camp.

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Connections

Featured in The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Hollywood Follies (1994)

User Reviews

Surprisingly wonderful

Since I was so impressed the the 1959 version of this film, I figured there was no way I could watch this 1925 version and not be let down by it. Not only is this original adaptation very good, but it stands very strongly next to the heralded remake. In some regards, I enjoyed this adaptation better than the remake. Romon Navarro makes an excellent title character. The highlight of this film for me is early on when the star of Bethlehem is formed. Eye-popping visuals especially considering the time they were produced. It blows away any CGI we have today.

The version I saw of this was the newly scored version by Carl Davis, who continues to impress me with his scores for silent films including those he has written for "Greed", "Safety Last", "The Crowd", "Intolerance", "The Phantom of the Opera", and "The Wind".