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 | History | 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:

Affection | Anti Semitism | Hatred | Adoption | Black & White To Color

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)
Clarence Brown	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Gilbert Clayton	...	Extra (uncredited)
Gary Cooper	...	Extra (uncredited)
Marion Davies	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
William Donovan	...	Extra (uncredited)
Ray Erlenborn	...	Background 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	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
John Gilbert	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Lillian Gish	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Harry Gordon	...	Centurion (uncredited)
Sid Grauman	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
William Green	...	Extra in chariot race (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)
Myrna Loy	...	Hedonist (Bit Part) (uncredited)
Cliff Lyons	...	(uncredited)
Mickey Millerick	...	Extra (uncredited)
Carlotta Monti	...	Extra (uncredited)
Colleen Moore	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Claude Payton	...	Jesus (uncredited)
Mary Pickford	...	Crowd extra in chariot race (uncredited)
Leonora Summers	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Tom Tyler	...	Chariot driver (uncredited)
Christiane Yves	...	Roman Girl (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
Edwin B. Willis		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
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
Cedric Gibbons	....	settings
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
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)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Critics' Choice Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1931) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Movies Unlimited (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Ufanamet (1926) (Finland) (theatrical)
• 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)
Ben Hur (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Ben Hur (Spain) [es]
Ben Hur (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

143 min | Germany:151 min (restored version)

Country:

USA

Color:

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

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:

Forty-eight cameras were used to film the sea battle, a record for a single scene.

Goofs:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Strength and Honor: Creating the World of 'Gladiator' (2005) (V)

'Silent' Ben-Hur Also Has A Lot To Offer

After seeing the famous 1959 version of this film a number of times in the last 45 years, it was interesting to contrast this 1925 silent version to it. However, let me say right off the bat that I enjoyed both versions, and I am not going to get into the "which movie is better?" argument.

This silent-film version was more true to the book than the more-famous 1959 movie, mainly from the Christian angle. Just look at the main title and notice "A Tale Of The Christ" was dropped for the '59 film even though that is the official title and the name of Lew Wallace's book. In this film, the life of Christ is much more prominent, and that's the major difference.

Both films feature a cast of thousands, the great sea battle and the dramatic chariot race. We have the intense and bitter rivalry between Judah Ben-Hur and Messala, capped off by the chariot race. To compare action scenes would be unfair since cameras and technical knowledge improve with time. Both versions wowed audiences in their day. The chariot race in the '59 version is still considered by some the great action scene ever filmed, especially since it was done without special effects.

Unlike the '59 movie, this silent version had TWO big stars in the leads: Ramon Narvarro and Francis X. Bushman, playing Ben-Hur and Messala, respectively. It also has an interesting mix of (mostly) black-and-white and tinted scenes. All the scenes involving Jesus had color. As in the '59 version, you never saw Christ's face.

Both had touching scenes with Ben-Hur and his sister and his mother. Speaking of women, a shocker in this silent version was a quick parade of topless women.

At 2 hours and 25 minutes this Ben-Hur was shorter than the '59 version. However, this is a long, long movie for a silent film and many people today probably wouldn't put up with no dialog for that long, but if you appreciate great film-making - from any era - this is a "must" for your collection.