It took seven years and close to $4 million to actually make the movie, which was the most expensive silent film of the era. The studio, MGM, ended up losing $1 million on it, but the prestige of the project was so great that they were satisfied. Still, the life span of the silent movie was short, and by the 1930s, the black-and-white Ben-Hur (which starred Ramon Novarro in the title role) felt quaint and outdated. It was in the 1930s, too, that Lew’s book finally toppled from American bestseller lists, replaced by another colorful historical saga, Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind.
Yet Ben-Hur remained a household word in America, not only because of the millions of copies of the book on shelves across the country, but also because of the array of consumer products that had borrowed the name. They ranged from life insurance to flour, from cigars to bicycles, from perfume to fences. The Ben Hur moving company is still in business, while Ben-Hur spices can easily be bought on eBay. Lew’s book had reached an enormous audience at the same time as the growth of consumer culture in America. Advertisers and marketers found it useful to link their products with Ben-Hur to create positive associations in the public’s mind. Soaps and hair products might refer to the Egyptian femme fatale Iras (improbably portrayed in the silent movie as that height of glamour, a platinum blonde). Bicycles, cars, harnesses, sleds, and even oil and gasoline were clearly linked to the chariot race. The Ben-Hur tent company seems especially clever, though there’s a big difference between a camping tent and the Bedouin encampment that features in the novel.
By the 1950s, film technology had made immense strides, but movie audiences were being wooed away to television. Naturally Hollywood responded with what TV couldn’t yet offer: big, colorful epics. MGM turned again to Ben-Hur, and the resulting blockbuster starring Charlton Heston broke all kinds of records: for the cost of production, for advance ticket sales, for Oscar nominations. It took in nearly $40 million in the first year and was rereleased commercially in 1970. Since then, TV broadcasts have been frequent, despite the running time of 213 minutes.
And now, more than fifty years later, Ben-Hur comes to the screen again, taking advantage of innovations in film and returning to the original story of two young men from different backgrounds, making different choices. And a third young man, Jesus, whose role on earth is nothing like theirs but drives the choice ultimately made by that durable hero, Judah Ben-Hur.
ACADEMY AWARDS
The 1959 release of Ben-Hur received eleven Academy Awards:
Best Picture, Sam Zimbalist (posthumous award)
Best Director, William Wyler
Best Actor in a Leading Role, Charlton Heston
Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Hugh Griffith
Best Art Direction—Set Decoration, Color, Edward C. Carfagno and William A. Horning (posthumous award) (art direction); Hugh Hunt (set decoration)
Best Cinematography, Color, Robert L. Surtees
Best Costume Design, Color, Elizabeth Haffenden
Best Special Effects, A. Arnold Gillespie, Robert MacDonald and Milo Lory
Best Film Editing, John D. Dunning and Ralph E. Winters
Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, Miklós Rózsa
Best Sound Recording, Franklin Milton, MGM Studio Sound Department
Nominated, but did not win, for Best Adapted Screenplay (lost to Room at the Top)
Only Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King have matched this number of Oscar wins.
About the Author
After graduating from Princeton University in 1977, Carol Wallace took a job in publishing in New York. A little over two years in the business convinced her that writers had more fun than editors, and she left to join their ranks. One of her first assignments was cowriting a little humor book called The Official Preppy Handbook.
This was followed by To Marry an English Lord, coauthored with Gail MacColl. First published in 1989, it returned to public notice in 2012, when Julian Fellowes cited it as an inspiration for Downton Abbey. In February 2013, To Marry an English Lord appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. Other publications include more than twenty books and dozens of magazine articles, focusing on humor, social history, parenting, and fiction. Her most recent title is a historical novel, Leaving Van Gogh, published in April 2011.
Carol is the great-great-granddaughter of Lew Wallace, author of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Adapting the original novel for contemporary audiences was both an honor and a thrill for her.
Image Credits
Unless otherwise noted, all interior photographs (excluding the insert) are from the General Lew Wallace Study and Museum, Crawfordsville, Indiana. Copyright © by Michael Hudson. All rights reserved.
Interior photographs are the property of their respective copyright holders and all rights are reserved. Credits are listed by source: owner/chapter numbers.
Alamy:
AF archive—chapters 4, 11, 20, 32, 49, 51
Pictorial Press Ltd—chapters 12, 32
BiblePlaces.com:
Barry Beitzel—chapter 36
DollarPhotoClub:
Alex Staroseltsev—throughout
rudall30—chapter 2
Renáta Sedmáková—chapter 3
Erica Guilane-Nachez—chapter 8
Circumnavigation—chapter 8
andersphoto—chapter 13
joserpizarro—chapter 31
Eve81—chapter 36
Gino Santa Maria—chapter 47
Cyberex—chapter 47
LoloStock—chapter 47
Eugene Kashko—chapter 47
Magdalena Kucova—chapter 47
Moti Meiri—chapter 47
zatletic—chapters 47, 48
mbolina—chapter 47
jat306—chapter 47
Linda J—chapter 50
Fotolia:
100ker—throughout
Getty:
ullstein bild—chapter 5
John Kobal Foundation—chapter 9
Mondadori—chapter 42
iStockphoto:
millsrymer—chapter 15
Torsten Stahlberg—chapter 46
Lightstock:
Pearl—chapter 47, epilogue
Shutterstock:
John Said—chapter 35
Wikimedia:
The Camel Train by Emile Rouergue—chapter 1
Michael Gunther—chapter 10
Berganza—chapter 12
LACMA—chapter 16
ElianBen-Zin—chapter 19
Snapshots Of The Past—chapter 20
Rama—chapter 22
Wolfgang Sauber—chapter 26
Wellcome Library, London—chapter 40
James Tissot—chapter 41
Berthold Werner—chapter 43
Daderot—chapter 44
Carl Heinrich Bloch—chapter 47
Foreword photograph of Lew Wallace courtesy Indiana Historical Society.
Images of the 1900 souvenir album in chapter 19 and Lew Wallace in his Civil War uniform in chapter 44 and afterword images of Susan Wallace, Lew Wallace’s sketch of the sultan, Lew Wallace meeting with Brooks and Young, and Lew Wallace during his New Mexico governorship provided courtesy of the General Lew Wallace Study and Museum, Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Illustrations in chapters 32 and 43 by Leen Ritmeyer. Copyright © Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Film stills from the motion picture Ben-Hur released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Paramount Pictures
MESSALA RETURNS
Judah Ben-Hur (Jack Huston, right) welcomes his childhood friend Messala (Toby Kebbell) back to Jerusalem.
Naomi (Ayelet Zurer, far left) and Tirzah (Sofia Black-D’Elia) enjoy an evening at home with their servants Esther (Nazanin Boniadi) and Simonides (Haluk Bilginer).
Messala presents Judah with a gift from his time away from Judea training and fighting as a Roman soldier.
A legion of soldiers parades into Jerusalem, heralding the arrival
of the new Roman governor.
Tirzah, Naomi, and Judah look on in horror after the Roman ruler parading past their home is attacked.
Pontius Pilate (Pilou Asbæk, center) cowers under Roman shields after nearly being hit.
ARRESTED
Soldiers swarm the Hur palace to arrest Judah and his family, accusing them of attempting to assassinate the Roman governor.
Tirzah struggles against the soldier holding her captive.
Judah pleads with Messala, begging him to show mercy to him and his mother and sister.
A BLESSED ENCOUNTER
A carpenter (Rodrigo Santoro) goes about his business in the marketplace.
When Judah collapses and the Romans prevent Esther from offering him a drink, the quiet carpenter named Jesus steps in.
PUNISHED AND SPARED
Judah spends several years as a galley slave, rowing to the beat of the hortator’s drum.
After Judah’s galley is attacked and capsizes, he survives by clinging to the wreckage.
A SAFE HAVEN
When Judah reaches land, he seeks refuge in this encampment, where a wealthy man is training his horses for a chariot race.
Ilderim (Morgan Freeman) needs a new driver for his horses.
TRAINING
Judah leaps onto an overturned chariot to stop Ilderim’s prized team of horses from running away.
Jack Huston practices driving a chariot with the stunt coordinator and horse master.
Judah runs Ilderim’s horses around a makeshift track for hours.
HOME AGAIN
Judah races off after learning more about his mother and sister’s whereabouts.
In the years since his arrest, the Hur palace has fallen into disrepair.
KINDLED HOPE
Esther hardly dared to hope that Judah might still be alive and is overjoyed at his return.
Meanwhile, Judah’s mother and sister have contracted leprosy while imprisoned.
AN EPIC RACE
Judah and Messala line up at the starting gates.
Messala takes an early lead in the race.
Racers round the corner of the first lap around the arena.
FINAL LAP
After multiple laps, Messala’s and Judah’s chariots collide, the wheels tangling and locking together.
Messala fights to push Judah out of the race.
Judah defeats Messala and claims victory, avenging his honor.
FINDING PURPOSE
After winning the race, Judah talks with Ilderim about his purpose in life.
Judah offers Jesus a drink on the way to his crucifixion, just as Jesus had given water to him.
CRUCIFIED
Judah watches in horror as Jesus is crucified.
Esther and Judah comfort each other at the foot of the cross.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Director Timur Bekmambetov looks on as crew members reset the crucifixion scene.
Cast chairs for Esther, Naomi, and Messala
Director Timur Bekmambetov shares some insights with Jack Huston and Morgan Freeman.
Toby Kebbell (as Messala) waits on a scooter in between filming scenes.
JUDAH
Jack Huston
MESSALA
Toby Kebbell
ESTHER
Nazanin Bonladi
ILDERIM
Morgan Freeman
NAOMI
Ayelet Zurer
TIRZAH
Sofia Black-D’Elia
FILMING THE RACE
This wide shot of the arena shows a couple filming angles of the race.
This diagram lays out the positions of the chariots while filming the race sequences.
Jack Huston practices leaning out of the chariot. Ilderim tells Judah, “You have to learn to tilt, cut into the corner, and fly on one wheel.”
BEN-HUR © 2016 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. and Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
General Lew Wallace, author of Ben-Hur, desired to create a unique space near his home in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where he could pursue creative endeavors. Throughout his adult life, he considered Crawfordsville his home, though his career in the military and as an attorney took him around the world. Wallace served as an officer in the Mexican War, a general in the Civil War, an attorney, a military judge, governor of New Mexico, and the US minister to the Ottoman Empire.
In spite of all these accomplishments, he considered Ben-Hur his greatest achievement.
Since its completion in 1896, the Lew Wallace study has been a local landmark in Crawfordsville, and in 1976 it was recognized as a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior. Constructed of an unusually hard red brick and Indiana limestone, this eclectic building reflects General Wallace’s varied experiences and tastes. Wallace served as his own architect for this unique combination of Greek, Romanesque, and Byzantine stylistic influences. The interior has been fully restored to its appearance when General Wallace was in residence, including frescoes, stained glass, and elaborate lighting. It is fully furnished with Wallace’s original possessions.
The General Lew Wallace Study and Museum is open for tours Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., February through mid-December. For more information, call (765)362-5769 or go online to www.ben-hur.com.
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