This Day in Indie History: Ben-Hur

by MovieMaker Staff | Published November 23, 2006

Often thought of as one of the most pivotal epic films of its time, William Wyler’s Ben-Hur opened in theaters in 1959. The second film adaptation of Lew Wallace’s novel, the film’s script was crafted by the talented collective of Karl Tunberg, Maxwell Anderson, Christopher Fry and Gore Vidal; however, the last three writers remain uncredited for their work, Vidal in particular for his addition of gay themes into an otherwise hyper-masculine script.

Film Factoid: A slew of actors including Rock Hudson, Paul Newman and Burt Lancaster were approached to take the title role before final casting narrowed down to Charlton Heston.

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