Silent Film Sources - Reviews

Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in arrangement with Abraham L. Erlanger, Charles B. Dillingham and Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. From the novel published and copyrighted by Harper and Brothers. 

Directed by Fred Niblo. 

Adaptation by June Mathis. 

Produced from the scenario of Carey Wilson. Continuity by Carey Wilson and Bess Meredyth. Directorial Associates, Alfred L. Raboch and Reeves Eason. Photography by Rene Guissart, Karl Struss, Percy Hilburn, Clyde De Vinna. Art effects by Ferdinand P. Earle. 

Settings by Cedric Gibbons and Horace Jackson. Titles by Katharine Hilliker and H.H. Caldwell. Film Editor, Lloyd Nosler. Assistant Director, Charles Stallings. Costumes by Theaterkunst Hermann J. Kaufmann, Berlin, N. 54. 

Cast: RAMON NAVARRO, Francis X. Bushman, May McAvoy, Betty Bronson, Claire McDowell, Kathleen Key, Carmel Myers, Nigel De Brulier, Mitchell Lewis, Leo White, Frank Currier, Charles Belcher, Dale Fuller, Winter Hall. 

For further information on the production of Ben-Hur see Kevin Brownlow, "The Heroic Fiasco: Ben-Hur," The Parade's Gone By, pages 385-413; Bosley Crowther, "The Saga of Ben Hur" in The Lion's Share, pages 91-100; A. Arnold Gillespie, "Remembrances of Ben Hur," Classic Images, No. 161, pages 38-40, Classic Images, No. 162, pages 24-26, 63.  

The producer of the stage version, Abraham Erlanger, formed the Classical Cinematograph Corporation to acquire and license the film rights. Goldwyn Pictures Corporation's Frank Godsol was looking for a prestige release and agreed to a royalty of 50% of the gross after deduction of a 35% distribution fee. Production began on location in Italy in February, 1924, with Charles Brabin directing and George Walsh in the title role. They encountered numerous difficulties from labor problems to the seaworthiness of several newly constructed full-sized Roman galley ships. The management of the newly formed Metro-Goldwyn combine inherited the out-of-control production, replaced the director and much of the cast, and tried to continue on location. The trouble-plagued filming became a disaster, as costs spiraled out of control and the filming of the sea battle led to the death of several extras who could not swim. Finally, in January, 1925, MGM shut down the location, bringing everyone back to MGM's studio and backlot in Culver City. 

The final film betrays little of the discord that went into its production. Ben-Hur is a producer's movie, not a director's film, and Ben-Hur is so well made, it is hard to credit the contribution of the usually workmanlike Fred Niblo. Second unit directors handled the action sequences and many of the sequences depicting the Gospels. The production also benefited from many unobtrusive photographic effects, including glass shots, hanging miniatures for the upper reaches of the coliseum, and a huge background miniature of Jerusalem. 

June Mathis' adaptation streamlined the novel, and provided the narrative with some balance so that the high points- the sea battle and chariot race- occur 1/3 and 2/3 of the way through the film. Scenarist Carey Wilson uses a combination of broad sweep and telling detail, so that despite the massive sets and huge crowd scenes, the human story is foremost. The film opens with a beautifully presented 15 minute prologue of the Nativity, which introduces the ever-present domination of Rome and its legions, and sets the time and place for the rest of the story. 

The main story introduces the family of Hur, a powerful line of Jewish princes. Messala, boyhood friend of the young prince Judah Ben-Hur, has become an officer of the Roman occupation. Messala encourages Ben-Hur to abandon his Jewish heritage and become a Roman. Rejecting his offer, Ben-Hur hopes for the coming of a Jewish King who will lead his people to freedom. Although the anti-Jewish bias of the Romans is a continuing theme of the story, it is presented from the viewpoint of an occupier, and is not a religious-based hatred. Later, Ben-Hur inadvertently upsets the triumphant parade of a new Roman governor. Messala's Roman soldiers seize Ben-Hur's mother and sister, while Ben-Hur is sentenced to the galleys for life. 

Fate is alternately cruel and kind to Ben-Hur. Condemned to an oar on a Roman galley ship, Quintus Arrius, the Roman captain of the fleet, admires his spunk and orders Ben-Hur unchained as the fleet is set upon by pirates. The sea battle is spectacular, with an array of full-size ships swarming with extras. The pirate ships ram the Roman galleys, and their fighters ruthlessly overwhelm the outnumbered Romans. The battle concludes as the slave compartments of the ships are flooded, while the pirates set the ships on fire. The escaping Ben-Hur saves the life of Quintus Arrius, and when they are rescued, the Roman adopts him as his son. One of the finest moments in the film occurs when Ben-Hur climbs the rope ladder into the Roman ship after the battle and sees the faces of the imprisoned galley slaves peering through the oar holes at him. 

Searching for his mother and sister, Ben-Hur is drawn to Antioch, the site of the chariot race that is the film's highlight. The scale of the coliseum is still awe-inspiring, with seemingly thousands of extras. The chariot race is staged by Reeves Eason in medium shots that focus on the conflict between Ben-Hur and Messala (with the actors driving their chariots) and long shots of the teams of horses racing, pulling ahead, and crashing into each other. The editors even placed the few dialogue titles over action to keep the pace and momentum. After this outstanding sequence, Ben-Hur's story concludes quickly to allow the film to focus on the Crucifixion, bringing the religious angle to the forefront. 

Ramon Navarro acquits himself well in an underwritten role that requires physical and moral strength, asceticism and devotion. The only evidence of the many hands in the production is the acting style. Some scenes are beautifully underplayed, as when Ben-Hur's exiled mother finds him sleeping outside their ancestral home. In other scenes the same actors play for the balcony in the most theatrical style of emphasized representation. Few of the lavish scenes in the main story lapse into pageantry, while virtually all of the scenes from the Gospels are presented as tableaux. 

Ben-Hur's final cost was just short of four million dollars, twenty times the average MGM release. The film was an enormous popular success following its premiere in New York on December 30, 1925, and played in roadshow engagements until its general release in the fall of 1927. Although the worldwide gross was over nine million dollars, MGM lost money on the film due to the onerous royalty arrangement. 

For many years Ben-Hur was available only in the abridged black and white edition prepared for reissue in 1931. The original score was rendered effectively, and the chariot race is presented without music, so that the soundtrack consists entirely of the sound of thundering hoofs. The reissue was not a success, and this version of the film fails to impress. 

The impact of the restored version of Ben-Hur supports the argument that proper presentation means everything for a silent film. This edition returns the majesty of the production with tints, the original color sequences and a full orchestral score, and the best image quality of surviving MGM silents. Some sequences are subtlely tinted, although, as on the original release, much of the film remains black and white. The twelve Technicolor sequences provide beautifully rendered tones, some only a single shot in length. Most of the Biblical scenes are presented in color, along with a few scenes from Ben-Hur's story. The score by Carl Davis is exquisite, alternately delicate and dynamic, with themes for each of the major characters and conflicts. (Review © 1997 David Pierce)