Ben Hur (1907 film)
Ben Hur is a 1907 American silent drama film set in ancient Rome, the first screen adaptation of Lew Wallace's popular 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Co-directed by Sidney Olcott and Frank Oakes Rose, this "photoplay" was produced by the Kalem Company of New York City, and its scenes, including the climactic chariot race, were filmed in the city's borough of Brooklyn.
| Ben Hur | |
|---|---|
Scene of Judah Ben-Hur (right) discussing with his sister Rome's misrule of Jerusalem | |
| Directed by | Sidney Olcott Frank Oakes Rose |
| Written by | Scenario by Gene Gauntier |
| Based on | Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ 1880 novel by Lew Wallace |
| Produced by | Frank J. Marion George Kleine Samuel Long |
| Cinematography | Max Schneider |
| Music by | Edgar Stillman Kelley (accompanying sheet music for film) |
Production companies | Kalem Company New York, N.Y. |
| Distributed by | Kalem Company |
Release date |
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Running time | 15 minutes ("Approximate Length" 1000 feet) |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | Silent (English intertitles) |
While this film is significant for being the first motion-picture adaptation of Wallace's novel, its production also served as a landmark case of copyright infringement by an early American film studio. In 1908 Kalem was successfully sued for representing parts of Wallace's book on screen without obtaining permission from the author's estate. Copies of the film, which survive, are now in the public domain and are readily available for free viewing online in the collections of various digital archives and on streaming services.