Ben Hur
About Ben Hur
Judah Ben-Hur's family is broken up in Jerusalem, and he is sent to the galleys in chains before he challenges Messala. Four chariots, each with four black horses, pass a fixed camera for three laps, and an intertitle names him the victor. A crowd cheers, he takes a wreath, and Messala is carried off on a stretcher. The film leaves out Jesus and the crucifixion.
Cast & crew
More about Ben Hur
Sidney Olcott directed, with Frank Oakes Rose assisting, and Gene Gauntier adapted Lew Wallace's 1880 novel for a Kalem release on 7 December 1907 at about 1,000 feet. The race was shot at Sheepshead Bay. Wikipedia gives about 15 minutes, and Wikidata lists 12.
Themes
Background
The 1911 Supreme Court decision treated the photoplay as a dramatization that needed the author's permission, and later producers bought book rights before shooting.
Look
The race is three laps at Sheepshead Bay, filmed so the chariots pass a static camera rather than a moving one.
Music
Edgar Stillman Kelley wrote the piano score issued for the picture.
Preservation
A print circulates. The catalog Internet Archive id uses the spelling Ben-hur and the year 1905.
Notes
- Kalem did not buy the rights. Harper and Brothers, Klaw and Erlanger, and the Wallace estate sued Kalem and Kleine Optical on 20 March 1908.
- A lower court ruled against Kalem in May 1908. The Supreme Court affirmed Kalem Co. v. Harper Brothers on 13 November 1911.
- Kalem paid $25,000 plus costs.
- Edgar Stillman Kelley wrote piano music sold with the film.
- Herman Rottjer is billed as chief charioteer. William S. Hart has been named as Messala, without a firm credit.
Scenes
- Four four-horse teams pass the camera.
- The intertitle Ben Hur Victor.
- Messala gestures from a stretcher while Judah takes the wreath.
Influenced by
- Lew Wallace's novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880)
Also available
- Internet Archive (SidneyOlcottsBen-hur1905)
- Wikimedia Commons (BEN HUR-1907-silent- A Kalem Film.ogv)
