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

User Rating:

8.2/10   

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 (unconfirmed) (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
Charles B. Dillingham	....	producer
Abraham L. Erlanger	....	producer
Louis B. Mayer	....	producer
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.	....	producer
Samuel Goldwyn	....	producer (uncredited)
Irving Thalberg	....	producer (uncredited)

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

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

Film Editing by
Lloyd Nosler

Casting by
Robert McIntyre		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Horace Jackson
Harry Oliver		(uncredited)

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

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

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

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

Art Department
A. Arnold Gillespie	....	set designer
Carl Bolzic	....	plasterer (uncredited)
Ferdinand P. Earle	....	assistant art director (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: restored version
Mike Fairbairn	....	dubbing editor: restored version

Special Effects by
Kenneth Gordon MacLean	....	miniatures (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Ferdinand P. Earle	....	visual effects (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 Eagler	....	photographer: trick photography (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
Richard Bradford	....	music recordist: restored version
Carl Davis	....	conductor: new score
Colin Matthews	....	orchestrator: Carl Davis
Maurice Baron	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Colonel Braden	....	technical advisor
Charles B. Dillingham	....	producer: stage version
Ferdinand P. Earle	....	art effects
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
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

Color:

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

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Anzio, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

MGM inherited the production when the company was founded in 1924; with the film over budget and getting out of control, the studio halted production and relocated the shoot from Italy to California, under the supervision of Irving Thalberg. William Wyler, one of sixty assistant directors for the chariot race, went on to direct the remake Ben-Hur (1959).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Camera visible during the chariot race.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Gladiators: Bloodsport of the Colisseum (2000) (V)

Spectacular Silent Version of Wallace Classic!

With the record number of Oscars won by the William Wyler 1959 version of BEN-HUR, there is a tendency to overlook the monumental 1925 production, which established MGM as a studio to be reckoned with. Well, if you've never seen the earlier version, you may be in for a surprise...it is superior in nearly every way!

Certainly, some of the performances (particularly Francis X. Bushman's scenery-chewing Messala) are cartoonish, the film lacks the widescreen splendor and scope of it's successor, and the 'Wyler Touch', the infinite care the legendary director poured over every detail, is sorely missed. But there is an energy and sense of intimacy in Fred Niblo's version that is sorely lacking in the later version; the film, as a whole, is far closer in spirit to General Lew Wallace's novel; and young leading man Ramon Novarro (with a sexy intensity reminiscent of Tyrone Power), makes a far more charismatic and sympathetic Ben-Hur than Charlton Heston.

The 1959 version is remembered today almost exclusively for the chariot race, one of the most spectacular action sequences ever filmed. But what of the other 'set piece', the gigantic sea battle between the Roman and pirate fleets? The scene is completely artificial, obviously comprised of models and rear projections (watch the toy seamen jiggle as ships collide!) The 1925 version's chariot race is equally as exciting, and the sea battle used full-sized ships and hundreds of extras (shot in Italy, where a fire broke out on the ships during the shooting...the extras' panic on screen was NOT acting!)

With two-strip Technicolor to emphasize key scenes (the Nativity, the new Roman Consul's arrival in Jerusalem...yes, those ARE topless women leading the procession!), and a wonderful, stirring new musical score by Carl Davis, Fred Niblo's BEN-HUR is a treasure, a film you'll want to see again and again...Can you honestly say THAT about the '59 version?