From attending a showing of the 1925 silent film Ben-Hur 1 presented by Seventeen Voyces some ten years ago, we had retained such vivid memories that we just had to attend again when Kevin Reeves offered another opportunity on May 2nd and 3rd at St. Matthews. This is the original version directed by Fred Niblo and starring Ramon Novarro.
It turned out our memories were selective — the incredible sea battle scenes and, of course, the chariot race sequence were as impressive as ever, but overall we now felt the action dragging a fair bit and, to be honest, I had forgotten that the Christian theme was so dominant. But its subtitle is “A Tale of Christ” after all and included are the story of the Birth of Christ, his Crucifixion and plenty of miracles along the way; the conclusion — love, not the sword is the answer — is laid on thick. Still, I should add the portrait of Mary (played by Betty Bronson) to my memory bank — an image surely among the most sublime of the silent era.
As before, live music was largely derived from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, this time performed by Seventeen Voyces joined by the Ewashko Singers and the Caelis Academy Ensemble. Three excellent soloists were soprano Carmen Harris, countertenor Mark Donnelly and baritone David Pike. A 5-member percussion group with Zac Pulak on timpani and, of course, the inimitable Matthew Larkin on organ completed the live music cast. Larkin also played the organ when there was no singing — amazing work, what I presume to be improvization.
Billy Wyler, who was an assistant director for the 1925 film, did an equally spectacular re-make in 1959, starring Charlton Heston. Both involved the largest sets ever built, required the largest budget of the time, etc. etc, but despite its enormous success the 1925 version ended up with a loss while the 1959 version saved MGM’s bacon, making a $20 million profit on its first release.