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Contemporary critics considered "Ben-Hur" to be overly romantic and were frustrated by the growing popularity of the book;
for readers, however, the book 'resonated with some of the most significant issues in late Victorian culture — gender and family;
slavery and freedom; ethnicity and empire; and nationhood and citizenship'. (per Howard Miller, 2014)
Synopsis
The Book
"Ben-Hur: A Tale of The Christ"
by Gen. Lew Wallace [1827-1905]
published by Harper & Brothers, New York on 12 November 1880
the most popular novel of the XIXth Century, and always in print for over 140 years
listed in Top Ten of 100 Best Books In New Mexico [Jan 2011]
novel entry at Wikipedia
Broadway play credits [1899-1917] at Internet Broadway Database
¨ ¨
Carol Wallace is the great-great-granddaughter of Lew Wallace, and holds degrees from Princeton University and Columbia University; she has written more than 20 books and has just updated "Ben-Hur" for Xian publisher Tyndale House as the official tie-in book for the 2016 3-D movie. The assumption is that the average reader would not likely engage with the 200,000-word original novel. "One big change was that I made the chapters very short, and made the dialogue more contemporary. And I spent more time on the point of view of the female characters, who were not really central in the original version. To be honest, I kept pretending [that] I was Lee Child – I love his swift, compelling way of telling a story."
The Author
Gen. Lew Wallace [1827-1905]
Born in Brookville, Indiana in 1827; served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Indiana Volunteer Infantry, 1846-47; opened law office in Indiana in 1849; married Susan Arnold Elston in 1852; elected to the Indiana Senate, served 1856-57; commissioned a colonel in the U.S. Army in April 1861; commanded troops at the battles of Shiloh and Monocacy; appointed to the ad hoc commissions investigating the assassination of Lincoln and the Confederacy's Andersonville prison camp; appointed governor of the New Mexico Territory, served August 1878 to March 1881; Harper & Brothers published his second novel "Ben-Hur" in November 1880, which became a worldwide bestseller; met and corresponded with outlaw Billy the Kid [1859-81] (Wallace reneged on a pardon for Billy); appointed Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, served 1881-85; lived in Indiana until his death in 1905.
Gen. Lew Wallace Study & Museum [built 1895-98] in Crawfordsville, Indiana
Lew Wallace Study & Museum entry at Wikipedia
official timeline on the Lew Wallace Study website
Lew Wallace entry at Wikipedia
credit listing for Lew Wallace {since 1907} at Internet Movie Database
Lew Wallace Broadway credits, 1899-1917
RCA's Lew Wallace Archive {last update 2004}
¨ ¨
browse Lew Wallace Store at Amazon
online Lew Wallace etexts (65 results) at Archive.org
"The Fair God: or, The Last of the 'Tzins - A Tale of The Conquest of Mexico" [1873]
"Commodus: An Historical Play" (privately published 1876)
Wallace's second novel "Ben-Hur" was published in 1880; sales were not large at first, but the book soon became a worldwide bestseller.
"The Prince of India: or, Why Constantinople Fell" in 2 volumes [Harper & Brothers, 1893]
Wallace considered it his best novel
"Life of Gen. Ben Harrison" biography [Hubbard Brothers, 1888]
"The Wooing of Malkatoon" narrative poem [1898]
"Lew Wallace: An Autobiography" in 2 volumes [1906]
Wallace was writing his autobiography when he died in 1905; his wife Susan completed it
with the assistance of Mary Hannah Krout, another author from Crawfordsville
http://www.amazon.com/Lew-Wallace-Autobiography-Classic-Reprint/dp/B008KANTT6/
"Lew Wallace: Militant Romantic" [McGraw-Hill, 1980] by Robert E. & Katharine M. Morsberger ISBN 0-07-043305-4
 | "Smoke, Sound & Fury: The Civil War Memoirs of Major-General Lew Wallace, U.S. Volunteers" [1998] Adapted from the autobiography of Lew Wallace (Edited & Introduction & Notes by Jim Leeke) Strawberry Hill Press 7¾x5 pb [1998] out of print/used Polyglot Press 8x5¾ pb [11/2004] out of print/used |
"The Shadow of Shiloh: Major General Lew Wallace In The Civil War" [Indiana Historical Society Press, 2010]
by Gail Stephens http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Shiloh-Major-General-Wallace/dp/0871952874/
wife Susan Arnold Elston Wallace [1830-1907]
Born in Indiana in 1830; married Lew Wallace in 1852; bore a son Henry Lane Wallace in 1853; widowed in 1905; died in 1907.
Susan Wallace entry at Wikipedia
RCA's Susan Wallace fanpage {last update 2003}
"The Storied Sea" [James R. Osgood & Co. 1883] first published in the New York Independent
"Ginevra: or, The Old Oak Chest - A Christmas Story" [Worthington Co. 1887] with illustrations by Gen. Lew Wallace
"The Repose In Egypt: A Medley" [John B. Alden, Publisher 1888] with illustrations
 | "The Land of The Pueblos" [1888] by Susan E. Wallace, with illustrations by Lew Wallace Kessinger Publng 9x6 pb [2/2015] for $3.91 Sunstone Press 9x6 facsimile edition pb [11/2006] for $26.95 Scholar's Choice 9¾x7½ pb [2/2015] for $29.75 Kessinger Publng 9x6 hardcover [9/2010] for $33.84 Nims & Knight 8½x5 hardcover [1889] long out of print/used John B. Alden, Publr hardcover [1888] long out of print/used available as free online etexts at Internet Archive |
"Along The Bosphorus and Other Sketches" [Rand, McNally & Co. 1898]
 | "The City of The King: or, What The Child Jesus Saw and Heard" [1903] by Lew Wallace & Susan E. Wallace Original cover shows author as 'Mrs. Lew Wallace', other web entries list both names – very likely a collaboration; with illustrations; describes visit in 1882 to Jerusalem and Bethleham Kindle Edition from General Lew Wallace Museum [10/2020] for $1.99 General Lew Wallace Museum 8x5 pb [10/2020] for $4.95 97-page The Bobbs-Merrill Co. hardcover [1903] long out of print |
Movies & Television
listing for keyword 'ben-hur-character' at Internet Movie Database
"Ben-Hur: Four-Disc Collector's Edition" on DVD
[Warner Home Video 2005]
 | Includes the 2-disk recently-restored version of the 1959 "Ben-Hur" movie; Disk 3 contains the 1925 feature-length silent version of "Ben-Hur", with a stereophonic orchestral score by composer Carl Davis; Disk 4 contains: vintage newsreels; theatrical trailers; highlights from the Academy Awards; three 1958 screen tests; the 1993 and 2005 documentary films; the 1986 William Wyler TV documentary – and more
Warner Home Video Collector's Edition DVD [9/2005] 4-disks for $12.22 |
"Ben-Hur" silent short film [Kalem Dec 1907]
 | The full Ben-Hur saga (except the slave ships) in fifteen minutes; the chariot race was filmed at Manhattan Beach, New York using local fire department horse teams; Hart performed as Messala on Broadway, 1899-1900, and repeated that role here – his first film; prints exist, but VHS is PAL format only. Directed by Harry T. Morey, Sidney Olcott & Frank Rose; written by Gene Gauntier from the Lew Wallace novel; starring Herman Rottger {as Ben-Hur} and William S. Hart {as Messala}
Region 1 DVD not available • bare credits at IMDb |
music is too loud; Ben-Hur arrested around 3:30; Arrius sequence begins at 4:50;
chariot race begins at 7:07 (4 teams); Ben-Hur crowned victor at 9:40
watch truncated film [11/2011 upload; 11:54] online at YouTube
watch full film [5/2013 upload; 16:12] online at YouTube
no music; Ben-Hur arrested around 5:25; Arrius sequence begins at 8:00; challenge sequence
begins at 10:10; chariot race begins at 11:25; Ben-Hur crowned victor at 15:16
Kalem filmed their 1907 "Ben Hur" short without contacting the Lew Wallace estate for rights; the estate sued all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which decreed in 1911
that Kalem had violated copyright law; the decision stated clearly that motion picture production companies must first secure the film rights of any previously-published work
still under copyright before commissioning a screenplay based on that work, and ordered Kalem to pay $25,000 to the Lew Wallace estate.
"Ben Hur: A Tale of The Christ"
[M.G.M. Dec 1925 silent; 1931 sound-added re-release; 1989 restoration]
  | Once friends in childhood, Judah Ben-Hur becomes a wealthy merchant and Messala becomes a Roman soldier. An accident during a parade causes Judah to be made a galley slave; determined on revenge, he survives and becomes a famous Roman athlete. Returning to Judeah, Judah is unable to find his sister and mother, believes them to be dead, and blames Messala. (At a cost of $3.9 million, the most expensive silent movie ever made. The famous chariot race sequence was filmed on a gigantic set built at Venice & La Cien-ega in Culver City, California. The film took six years to turn a small profit, from the 1931 sound-added re-release.) Produced by J.J. Cohn {see 1959}, Samuel Goldwyn, Louis B. Mayer & Irving Thalberg; directed by Fred Niblo {chariot race directed by B. Reeves Eason; one of the assistant directors was William Wyler - see 1959}; based on the 1880 novel by Gen. Lew Wallace; starring Ramon Novarro, Francis X. Bushman, May McAvoy, Betty Bronson, Kathleen Key, Carmel Myers, Nigel De Brulier, Mitchell Lewis, Frank Currier, Charles Belcher, Dale Fuller, Winter Hall & Claude Payton, with 125,000 extras; listed on the National Film Registry (1997)
1989 Turner restoration available on DVD as part of the 1959 movie 4-disk Collector's Edition 1925 & 1959 versions: Warner Home Video Collector's Edition DVD [9/2005] 4-disks for $12.22 1925 version only: Warner Home Video b&w VHS [9/98] for $25.00 27"x40" double two-shot poster from Amazon - no longer available 11"x17" couch poster from Amazon for $9.98 full credits from IMDb • film entry at Wikipedia watch official 1925 trailer [3:09] online at YouTube |
M.G.M feverishly hunted for actors to play Judah Ben-Hur and Messala during 1958 (the sets were under construction in Italy); the producers considered
Paul Newman (he flat refused), Marlon Brando, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Rock Hudson, Cesare Danova - then after a rare open casting call,
Wyler chose Heston; screen test footage of Cesare Danova {as Ben-Hur} and Leslie Nielsen [1926-2010] as Messala still exists, as well as screen tests
of Leslie Nielsen & Yale Wexler and of George Baker & William Russel; actors Kirk Douglas, Stewart Granger, Leslie Nielsen, and Robert Ryan were
considered for the role of Messala {clips are contained in the 1993 "Making of . . ." documentary and on the 4-disk DVD set}
the 1958 Nielsen-Danova screen test [7:00] was removed from YouTube
"Ben-Hur" [Nov 1959]
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052618/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben-Hur_(1959_film)
listed #2 on AFI's Top Ten Epic Movies
listed #56 on AFI's Top 100 Inspiring Films
#13 box-office "Ben-Hur" [M.G.M./Loew's Nov 1959] 98,000,000 domestic tickets {as-of 2011}
produced by Sam Zimbalist, William Wyler & J.J. Cohn
1959 script by tunberg, Vidal hired to rewrite , then rewrite by CFry - shot one then the second
although the original release was in Technicolor, the 1974 release was in MetroColor.
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actor
Best Color Cinematography
Best Music Score
Best Film Editing
Best Special Effects
Best Sound
Best Color Art Direction
Best Color Costume Design
Karl Tunberg received a controversial Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay Adaptation
http://www.archive.org/details/benhurfilmi1959
http://www.amazon.com/Ben-Hur-50th-Anniversary-Blu-ray-Combo/dp/B005ROQZC6/
"Directed by William Wyler" episode of "American Masters" [P.B.S. May 1986] /tt0090947/
 | "Ben-Hur" 1959 M.G.M. script [2012] written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal & Christopher Fry Kindle Edition from Warner Bros. Digital Publng [10/2012] for $4.99 "Ben-Hur 1959: Inside The Script" [2012] includes script text as above Kindle Edition from Warner Bros. Digital Publng [9/2012] for $4.99 |
"Ben-Hur: The Making of An Epic" video [Turner Home Ent. 1993]
 | Hour-long, mostly-color documentary film covering Lew Wallace and his bestseller book, the stage-plays, and the three movies of 1907, 1925/1931, and 1959 • Co-produced & directed by Scott Benson; co-produced & written by Mary Adair Kaiser; creative consultant George Feltenstein; edited by Allison Marks; narrated by Christopher Plummer; interviewees include film historian Rudy Behlmer, stunt director Yakima Canutt, son Joe Canutt, Edward Carfagno Jr., MGM exec J.J. Cohn, SFX director Richard Edlund, actor Ramon Novarro, David Raksin, writer Gore Vidal [1925-2012], film editor Ralph E. Winters, producer-director William Wyler, and daughter Catherine Wyler • VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available •
full credits at IMDb
watch the full documentary in English, with Italian subtitles [58:16] at YouTube |
"Ben Hur" animated video release [2003]
 | Produced by Heston's company, heavy emphasis on Xian faith; after the slave ship and chariot sequences, lamed Messala asks Judah for forgiveness, the Crucifixion is shown, and Judah's family and Messala are healed; Heston's last film; animated in China • Co-produced & directed by William R. 'Bill' Kowalchuk, Jr.; written by Abi Estrin Cunningham; featuring voices of Charlton Heston {as Judah}, Duncan Fraser {as Messala}, Scott McNeil {as Jesus}, Gerard Plunkett, Willow Johnson, Kathleen Barr, Tabitha St. Germain, Long John Baldry & French Tickner
Gaiam Ent. color DVD [2/2003] for $4.24 Gaiam Ent. Spanish-dubbed color DVD [11/2005] for $5.95 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema" documentary [Warner Bros. Sept 2005]
Co-produced & directed by Gary Leva; featuring Bruce Crawford, Ben Burtt, Ridley Scott, George Lucas, Arnon Milchan, Fraser Clarke Heston, Robert Dalva, Ernest R. Dickerson, Arthur Max, Don Davis, Irvin Kershner, Anthony Pratt, Janusz Kaminski, Sharen Davis, Elia Cmiral, Joel Cox, Caleb Deschanel, and Michael Douglas, with archive footage of William Wyler & Charlton Heston
full credits at IMDb •
available as part of the 1959 movie 4-disk Collector's Edition {above}
"Ben Hur" 2-part TV movie [CBC-TV & ABC-TV April 2010]
 | "Rome made him a slave - Revenge set him free" • two 90-minute episodes Co-produced & directed by Steve Shill; teleplay by Alan Sharp; starring Joseph Morgan {as Judah Ben-Hur}, Stephen Campbell Moore {as Messala}, Emily VanCamp, Kristin Kreuk, Ben Cross {as Emperor Tiberius}, Ray Winstone {as Arrius}, Hugh Bonneville {as Pilate}, Julian Casey {as Jesus}, Simón Andreu, Alex Kingston, James Faulkner, Art Malik {as Ilderim}, Marc Warren, Lucía Jiménez, Miguel Ángel Muñoz, Kris Holden-Ried & Michael Nardone Sony Pictures Home Ent. widescreen color DVD [4/2013] for $8.94 full credits at IMDb • miniseries entry at Wikipedia |
"Ben-Hur" remake in in 3-D [Paramount release in Aug 2016]
 | "Brother against brother. Slave against empire." Announced 1/2013: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios bought a spec script from Keith R. Clarke based on the Lew Wallace novel that tells a much different story than William Wyler's 1959 Oscar-winning picture: firstly, it will focus on the 'formative years' of Judah Ben-Hur and Messala, leading up to the moment in which Messala betrays Ben-Hur, selling him into slavery; the parallel story is of Jesus of Nazareth, who meets up with Ben-Hur at various points, and is eventually sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate; real reason for the remake? chariot race in 3-D! • Filmed in Italy; directed by Timur Bekmam-betov; co-produced & screenplay by Keith R. Clarke & John Ridley, based on the novel by Lew Wallace; starring Jack Huston {as Judah Ben-Hur}, Toby Kebbell {as Messala}, Rodrigo Santoro {as Jesus}, Morgan Freeman, Nazanin Boniadi, Haluk Bilginer, Pilou Asbæk, Marwan Kenzari, Moises Arias, Yasen Atour, David Walmsley, Ayelet Zurer, Sofia Black-D'Elia, James Cosmo, Julian Kostov, Dato Bakhtadze, Denise Tantucci, Jarreth J. Merz, Gabriel Lo Giudice, Nico Toffoli, Alan Cappelli Goetz, Ed Hendrik, Simone Spinazze, Alessandro Giuggioli, Stefano Scherini, Jay Natelle • Placed fifth on its opening weekend, with generally negative reviews from critics and worldwide gross of $22 million against a $100 million budget.
CRITIQUE: Film direction was poor (and-or editing); the story failed to make much sense: Jerusalem was not built on a cliff; Judah Ben Hur saved a Roman leader during the sea battle and was adopted by him, thus he was in Rome for chariot race (entire thread missing, replaced by Berber Morgan Freeman); the movie has gigantic Circus arena built in distant Judeah, which never happened. Paramount Home Video widescreen color Blu-ray/DVD combo [undated] PRE-ORDER for $39.99 Paramount Home Video widescreen color DVD [undated] PRE-ORDER for $29.99 latest info at IMDb • official movie site • movie entry at Wikipedia watch 3/2016 official trailer [2:32] at YouTube |
Stageplays, Other Media
stageplay credits [1899-1917] at Internet Broadway Database
® ®
Klaw & Erlanger's stageplay version of "Ben-Hur"
Wallace resisted all requests to produce a stageplay version of "Ben-Hur" because he worried about the portrayal of Jesus of Nazarath.
New York stage producers A.L. Erlanger & Marc Klaw proposed a solution that Wallace could agree to: the presence of Jesus would be signified
by a shaft of bright light! The stageplay opened on Broadway on 29 November 1899 and ran for 194 performances thru May 1900, then had a return
engagement of 40 performances in Sept-Nov 1900. The play was revived on Broadway without success in 1903, 1907, 1911, and 1916.
However, a touring company version was very successful across the United States and elsewhere, selling an estimated 2 million tickets.
 | "Lew Wallace's Ben-Hur: A Play" [1899] Arranged for the stage by Wm. Young Variations of billing included "Klaw & Erlanger's Stupendous Production of 'Ben-Hur' by Lew Wallace, Dramatized by Wm. E. Young" and 'A play in a prologue and six acts' and 'Music by Edgar Stllman Kelley' Scholar's Choice 9¾x7½ playscript pb [2/2015] for $20.75 The British Library 9¾x7½ playscript pb [2/2011] for $20.02 |
® ®\
"Ben Hur Live" stage adaptation [2009]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Hur_Live
 | "Jigsaw Puzzle of 1,000 Pieces: The Chariot Race" [undated] from Pomegranate Artpiece Puzzles Puzzle size: 16" tall by 32" wide; box size: 10x13x2"; picture is detail from the 1872 oil painting by Hungarian artist Alexander von Wagner [1838-1919] Pomegranate jigsaw puzzle [undated] for $17.96 |
 | "Ben Hur: An Epic Tale of Revenge & Redemption" [2000] 'action-packed production' from Focus on the Family Radio Theatre; produced by Philip Glassborow, adapted by Dirk Maggs; recorded in London, U.K. 124-minute Tyndale Ent. audio CD [6/2007] for $12.33 Tyndale Ent. audio CD [4/2000] out of print/used Tyndale Ent. audio cassettes [4/2000] out of print/used |
 | "Messala: The Return From Ruin - A Sequel To Ben-Hur" [2011 novel] by Lois Scouten Messala's once-passionate romance with Iras the Egyptian collapses, he rebuilds his health, his fortunes in Roman society fluctuate, he runs another chariot race in a harrowing incident of road rage, and he is attracted to various Roman beauties before he finds marital contentment in a new love - while we experience the tension that Messala feels between loyalty to his Roman heritage and his growing interest in the new religion of Christianity. Kindle Edition from B.P.S. Books [10/2011] for $9.99 B.P.S. Books 9x6 pb [10/2011] for $34.95 |
 | "The Ben-Hur Murders: Inside The 1925 'Hollywood Games'" [2015] by John W. Harding A runaway farmboy from Missouri gets a job tending horses at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and pairs up with an unhappy actress; they discover that the several deaths during filming of the chariot race for M.G.M.'s epic "Ben-Hur" may not have been accidents . . . Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [1/2015] for $5.99 MindRight Publng 9x6 pb [2/2015] for $12.95 Lulu Publng Services 9x6 hardcover [5/2015] for $34.99 |
Image Gallery
L i n k s
Gen. Lew Wallace Study & Museum [built 1895-98] in Crawfordsville, Indiana
Lew Wallace entry at Wikipedia
Susan Wallace entry at Wikipedia
Wallace Collection at the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis
here on the "Ben-Hur" Novel & Movies Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
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