For the 60th Anniversary of the release of Ben-Hur (1959) TCM Presents featured a big screen re-release through Fathom Events. The story of Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) a wealthy and respected merchant and Prince of Judea, the film is an epic of impressive stature. Following Judah from Judea, to life in a ship's slave galley, to the return of prestige in Rome, Ben-Hur is also the story of the beginning of Christianity. And if any film deserves to be seen on the big screen, it is this one. Charlton Heston won an Oscar for playing Ben-Hur; he's a good actor - not one of my personal favorites, but he is convincing in the part. Judah, for obvious reasons, spends a lot of the film angry, and Mr. Heston is quite convincing as a irate hero; his size alone (he was 6'3" and has an impressive physique) make him an imposing presence and a force to be reckoned with. Stephen Boyd as Messala plays the antagonist to Heston. He too is full of rage, but where Heston's rage shoot out of his eyes, Mr. Boyd plays the character with anger seething under the surface. Messala is ambitious, cruel and without mercy. That he could turn on his friend, and his friend's family without even the blink of an eye is one of the most difficult parts of the drama to absorb.
This brings up a controversy that has been raging for years. In a 1995 documentary, The Celluloid Closet, writer Gore Vidal alleged that he approached William Wyler and suggested a subtext to the action: Ben-Hur and Messala were former lovers, and Judah was unwilling to begin that particular relationship again. Mr. Vidal said that Mr. Wyler agreed: "we'll try it.. you talk to Boyd.. but don't say anything to Heston." Both Mr. Boyd and Mr. Wyler had already died, so there was no one to corroborate the story. While it is apparent that Mr. Boyd has a lot more in his delivery than the politics that supposedly drove the friends apart, I suggest that Mr. Vidal (who was always quite good at blowing his own horn), is taking responsibility for someone else's creativity. It's hard to imagine Mr. Wyler having someone else describe the scene to an actor, and Stephen Boyd is a fine actor, certainly capable of developing his own subtext. One thinks back to Charles Laughton in The Barretts of Wimpole Street; when told that the dialogue had been toned down to minimize Mr. Barrett's incestuous desire for his daughter, Elizabeth, Mr. Laughton stated "They can’t censor the gleam in my eye.” (The Concise Columbia Dictionary of Quotations by Robert Andrews). For more discussion of the controversy, see Sacred Profanity: Spirituality at the Moviesby Aubrey Malone.
It has always been a surprise to me that neither Mr. Boyd nor Jack Hawkins (Quintus Arrius) were nominated for Best Supporting Actor, while Hugh Griffith (Sheik Ilderim) was. Ilderim is not that big - nor that important a part, while Mr. Boyd and Mr. Hawkins both turn in excellent, complex performances. (In all honesty, I'm still miffed that Robert Vaughn didn't win for The Young Philadelphians.) Only Mr. Griffith and Mr. Heston were nominated in the performance categories (both won), in spite of excellent work from Haya Harareet (Esther), Finlay Currie (Balthasar), Martha Scott (Miriam), and Cathy O'Donnell (Tirzah).
Neither Mr. Heston nor Ms. Harareet were the first choices for their roles. Marlon Brando, Cesare Danova, Kirk Douglas, and Rock Hudson were considered for Judah (TCM article); Ava Gardner and Pier Angeli were in the running for Esther (AFI catalog). Chuck Conners and Leslie Nielsen were tested for Messala.
The film is a remake of the highly regarded 1925 film, with Ramon Novarro and Francis X. Bushman as Judah and Messala. It's been said that the chariot sequence in the earlier film actually surpasses this version. If you're interested in comparing them, you can view both versions below, though I will say that, having just seen the 1954 version on a big screen, it is an experience that is an unfair comparison to this tiny screen.
In addition to winning 11 of the 12 Oscars for which it was nominated (it's currently tied for most wins with Titanic (1997) and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003), Ben-Hur also won 4 Golden Globe Awards (including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor to Stephen Boyd), the BAFTA Award for Best Picture, DGA Award for Best Director, and the NY Film Critics Award for Best Picture. It still remains on a number of the AFI lists: It's #100 on 100 Years, 100 Films (10th Anniversary Edition) and #72 on the Original List, #21 on the list of Film Scores, #49 on 100 Years, 100 Thrills, and #56 on 100 Years, 100 Cheers. It was added to the National Film Registry in 2004. I'll leave you with the re-release trailer:
Stood up again by her philandering boyfriend, Sheridan "Sherry" Warren (Robert Montgomery), Marcia Townsend (Joan Crawford) resolves to never see him again. He convinces her to give him another chance, but it turns out to be another another night of Sherry's dalliances, and Marcia leaves. Realizing Sherry is about to lose her, he proposes, and against her own, and her grandmother Fanny Townsend (Edna May Oliver)'s better judgement, Marcia agrees to marry him. But Sherry is no more committed to monogamy than he was before the marriage, so Marcia decides it's time for No More Ladies (1935) The positives of this film are the excellent cast - Joan Crawford, Robert Montgomery, Franchot Tone, Edna May Oliver, Gail Patrick, Charlie Ruggles, Reginald Denny, and Joan Burfield aka Joan Fontaine (in her screen debut). The negative is it's an awful script. Based on a 1934 Broadway play, which starred Ruth Weston, Lucile Watson, and Melvyn Douglas, the film is long and ultimately boring. (Ms. Weston and Ms. Watson were originally supposed to reprise their roles in the film (AFI catalog)). One major problem is the character of Sherry Warren. Sure, Mr. Montgomery is extremely attractive but Sherry is a womanizer, and everyone knows it. He's already broken up one marriage, he uses and dumps women regularly, so what Marcia could possibly see in him is never really clear. She's got the equally attractive Jim Salston (Franchot Tone) pursuing her, so why settle for a man who is never going to be a husband? Tis a mystery.
The actor that stands out in the film is Edna May Oliver. She gets the best lines and as always, has the most fantastic delivery. Born in 1883, Ms. Oliver was already on Broadway by 1916. By 1932, she had appeared in 11 musicals and dramas, including the original Show Boat (1927) in which she played Parthy Hawks. Her film career began in 1923; she would appear in 48 films, including A Tale of Two Cities (1935), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) (for which she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress), David Copperfield (1935), and 3 films as amateur sleuth Hildegarde Withers. Quite frankly, she always managed to steal the film, even though her parts were usually supporting roles. She died at age 59 in 1942. We always enjoy seeing Gail Patrick (Theresa German), but she's wasted in this film. She, however, was grateful for the part - she'd been suggested by Ms. Crawford, who looked after her on the set, having her own makeup man work with Ms. Patrick. (TCM article). Why Ms. Patrick is asked to sing and play the ukulele, is beyond our ken. She's a lovely woman and an excellent actress, but she can't sing (and her repertoire seems inappropriate for this society party).
Franchot Tone and Joan Crawford had already appeared in three of their seven films together, and were married the year this film was released. They only have a couple of scenes together, but even with that little screen time, they seem like a better match than Marcia and Sherry. Their marriage would last until 1939, but their (eventual) friendship lasted til the end of Mr. Tone's life, with Ms. Crawford caring for him when he was dying of lung cancer. Charlie Ruggles as Sherry's continually drunken friend Edgar Holden is amusing in the beginning, but the character begins to wear thin after a few scenes. And with the exception of one scene towards the middle of the film (when Edgar is someplace he's not supposed to be), it's a mystery why he is even there. The scriptwriter keeps trying to find ways of incorporating him into the action. All it does is slow the film down further. Arthur Treacher appears briefly as Lord Knowleton - whose unintelligible English accent is shown twice - then he speaks perfectly normally. The question again is why?
Since this is an MGM picture, we also have the benefit of outstanding set direction by Cedric Gibbons, and lovely costumes by Adrian. But it's not enough. The New York Timesreview by Andre Sennwald is dismissive "Out of the labors of the brigade of writers who tinkered with the screen
play, there remain a sprinkling of nifties which make for moments of
hilarity in an expanse of tedium and fake sophistication." Sadly, we agree. So, unless you are a complete-ist for one the actors involved, this is one to pass on. Below is a clip from the beginning of the film.
Thomas Dickson (Walter Huston) runs a successful bank in an unnamed city in 1932 America. His bank survived the beginnings of the Depression primarily because of Dickson's gift for choosing individuals to whom to loan money. Often, Dickson makes loans on the character of the person, regardless of their collateral, yet those to whom he lent money have unfailingly paid it back. But a bank robbery threatens the integrity of the bank when word is leaked that they are broke, starting an American Madness (1932). Shown at the AFI Silver Theatre as part of a retrospective celebrating the works of Fay Wray and Robert Riskin, the film featured commentary by their daughter, Victoria Riskin (who recently published Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir). Mr. Riskin wrote the screenplay - one of eight collaborations with Frank Capra (TCM article). Frank Capra was not the first choice to direct the film - initially Allan Dwan was set to direct, but producer Harry Cohn was dissatisfied with his efforts, fired him and assigned Roy William Neill. Within a day, Neill was gone and Frank Capra, who was just back from a vacation, was pushed into the film. Scenes of the bank run are reminiscent of It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and the character of Thomas Dickson resembles George Bailey, even to his speeches as je attempts to calm the bank panic. It's an interesting opportunity to see the work that would later influence what many consider Capra's masterwork.
Walter Huston is impressive as Dickson, a man of principle facing a crisis of faith. Dickson has spent his life relying on his ability to read people. Now, in an instant he discovers that a climate of fear brings out the worst in his fellow man. The character of Dickson was based on the chairman of the Bank of America, A. P. Giannini (AFI catalog ). Mr. Huston is always an impressive actor - see his work in Rain (1932), Dodsworth (1936), and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) for very different performances. Pat O'Brien plays Matt Brown, an ex-con hired - and promoted - by Dickson. He's in love with Dickson's secretary, Helen (Constance Cummings), and inadvertently witnessed what he thought was a romantic assignation between Dickson's wife, Phyllis (Kay Johnson) and fellow employee Cyril Cluett (Gavin Gordon). Mr. O'Brien has his best scenes when he is (unsurprisingly) accused of collusion in the bank robbery. His anxiety over preserving his boss' marriage (Matt accompanied Ms. Dickson home when he found her at Cluett's apartment) rather than provide himself with an alibi is well played - and an interesting contrast to Gavin Gordon.
Constance Cummings didn't have a big part in this film - her role is to support Matt and Dickson, but she does it well. When she was the Star of the Day in Summer Under the Stars, Michael Feinstein discussed her. Her U.S. film career was short (she'd already had a Broadway career, which would continue until 1979); after her 1933 marriage to Benn Levy (they had two children and were together until his death in 1973), she moved with her husband to England, where she would continue working in films (Blithe Spirit (1945)) and the stage (Long Day's Journey into Night opposite Laurence Olivier in 1971). She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in 1979's Wings. She died in 2005, aged 95
This is the first film role for Sterling Holloway (Oscar), who would go on to perform numerous character parts, television roles, and voice parts, include Mr. Stork in Dumbo (1941), the narrator of "Peter and the Wolf" in Make Mine Music (1946), and Winnie the Pooh. It's an interesting movie, and if you are a fan of Frank Capra, or would like to see the genesis of It's a Wonderful Life, definitely worth a viewing. I'll close with an early scene, which introduces many of our characters.
