1. Messala.
   Judah Ben-Hur.
2. Tiberius Caesar.
   Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ's birth was shown at the beginning of the movie. "Ben-Hur" cost MGM more money than any other film at the time, $14.5 million. They needed the movie to be a success, or the studio would have failed.

1. An Indian hair comb.
   A Venetian necklace.
2. A Libyan brooch.
   An Egyptian bracelet.

"No, it's Libyan. I was there last year… It's a brooch for a woman."

1. Judah Ben-Hur.
   Messala.
2. Pontius Pilate.
   Drusus.

Messala was one of the last people cast, and he only had a couple of weeks to learn how to drive the chariot and study the script.

1. Tell his people not to fight.
   Give him the names of those who hate Rome.
2. Invite him over to dinner.
   Sell his property and move to Rome.

"I would do anything for you Messala, except betray my own people… If I cannot persuade them, that does not mean I would help you murder them."

1. A flower from her hair.
   Her sash.
2. Her handkerchief.
   Her slave ring.

He took Esther's slave ring. Americans played the members of Ben-Hur's family, but the actress who played Esther was Israeli. Actors from English-speaking countries (especially Great Britain) got the other roles.

1. Once every two years.
   Once a year.
2. Twice a year.
   Four times a year.

"Once a year, you bring your accounting. Once a year, I find myself wealthier. Yes, but my greatest treasure is my steward."

1. Jesus brought him water.
   Jesus was preaching on a hillside when the slaves went past.
2. Jesus' father bought him.
   Jesus walked on water while Ben-Hur was rowing.

The director ensured that the camera never saw Jesus' face. Jesus appeared in the beginning of the movie walking in the hills, but the first time Jesus met Judah was when Jesus offered him water.

1. He threw a rock at a passing Roman procession.
   He refused to give the name of a Jewish assassin.
2. A tile fell from his roof on a passing Roman official.
   He tried to stab him with a knife.

"But the tile was loose, and it fell and struck the governor… It was an accident."

1. 50.
   100.
2. 150.
   200.

There were 200 rowers. The oars were on elastic tethers, which made them difficult to pull.

1. 41.
   6.
2. 28.
   42.

"You have the spirit to fight back, but the good sense to control it. Your eyes are full of hate, 41. That's good. Hate keeps a man alive."

1. He gave him a key to the locks.
   He let him stay above deck chained to a mast.
2. He did not chain him to the ship.
   He gave him a weapon.

Arrius did not chain Ben-Hur to the ship. The ship was a full sized galley, and it was placed in a large tank to sink it. The ramming point was a predesigned breakaway section.

1. To be his head steward.
   To become one of his gladiators.
2. To appeal to Rome.
   To buy his freedom.

"I'm a fighting man by profession, and in my leisure time it amuses me to train fighting men. I own some of the best gladiators and charioteers in Rome. Would you like to become one of them?"

1. Charlton Heston.
   Gary Cooper.
2. James Garner.
   Ramon Novarro.

Charlton Heston (October 4, 1923—April 5, 2008) began his career acting in theaters in New York. His first film was Peer Gynt (1941), but he is probably best known for his roles as Moses in "The Ten Commandments" and the title role in "Ben-Hur."

1. "… He forgot to save himself."
   "… Your God has also saved the Roman fleet."
2. "… He forgot you were only a slave."
   "… He saved me."

"It was a victory? …In His eagerness to save you, your God has also saved the Roman fleet."

1. He made him the Captain of his own galley.
   He gave him to Caesar as a loyal servant.
2. He adopted him as a son.
   He made him head steward.

Although Arrius adopted Ben-Hur as a son, Roman law would have forbidden this act. Slaves could be adopted as sons, and inherit as sons, only if they had not become slaves after having been found guilty of a crime. Since Ben-Hur had become a slave this way, he would have had to remain a slave forever in Rome, or he could have been released and been treated as a conquered "subject," as long as he stayed 100 miles away from Rome.

1. His wives.
   Hills.
2. The cardinal directions.
   Stars.

"They have descended from the Arabian races for the pharaohs, and I have named them for the stars."

1. Esther and Judah's mother and sister.
   Esther, her father, and her father's friend.
2. Only Esther—the rest were in prison when Judah first returns.
   Messala.

They kept retaking the scene where Judah came home and found Esther, her father, and her father's friend living in his abandoned house. The first time they did it, Ben-Hur's foot hit a pot, but the cameraman was not in the right position. Because the director wasn't vocal about why he was doing things, Heston thought he didn't like the pot sound and avoided it—when, in fact, that was the effect the director kept trying to get again.

1. She had to care for her father.
   He abandoned her when her father was arrested.
2. She no longer had dowry money.
   She told him she didn't love him.

"My father needed me… If Messala once knew you were here,.."

1. They had been shipped to Rome.
   They died in prison.
2. They were lepers.
   His mother was dead in the cell with his sister.

Nerve disease that affects skin.

1. She didn't want Judah to know when was responsible for their fate.
   Messala threatened to kill her father if she didn't.
2. She thought Judah would leave her if he knew the truth.
   Miriam made her promise not to tell him about them.

Leprosy (Hansen's Disease) was one of many skin diseases that required Jewish people to live apart from the community. Leprosy deforms those it infects, which was why Miriam made Esther promise not to tell Judah. Today, the disease is treatable but can cause severe long-term effects if treatment is not begun soon enough.

1. Pit his gladiator against Roman lions.
   Race his horses against Messala's horses.
2. Set his wrestler against a Roman wrestler.
   Match his swordsman against Messala.

"As you know, of course, I am a gambling man… I am racing my whites against the noble Tribune's magnificent undefeated blacks, but I will back my own poor horses."

1. Blue.
   White.
2. Gold.
   Purple.

Lining up for the race, when Ben-Hur wore a blue cape, was the first scene shot in the movie. Heston said the most difficult part was getting the chariots around the corner in a straight line during the procession.

1. 2:1.
   3:1.
2. 4:1.
   5:1.

"You, Tribune, will you give me 4:1? …Good."

1. Augustus.
   Tiberius.
2. Julius.
   Nero.

"Citizens, I welcome you to these games in the name of your Emperor, the divine Tiberius. We dedicate them to his glory and to the glory of Rome, of which you are all a part.

1. Swords sprang out from the side of the chariot.
   It shot fire out of its back.
2. The wheels were larger, which made it easier to run over others.
   There were metal spikes on the wheel hubs.

Others referred to Messala's chariot as a "Greek" chariot because of the spikes on its wheels. Ironically, it was acceptable only in Roman races to try to knock your opponents off the track or cause them to crash.

1. Messala.
   Ben-Hur.
2. Pilate.
   Tiberius.

Ben-Hur won the race. When he fell out of the chariot after his horses jumped the wrecked chariot, his stuntman was almost killed because he failed to fasten his belt to a provided hook. Boyd (Messala) and Heston (Ben-Hur) were the only inexperienced chariot drivers in the race.

1. Cauterizing all his wounds.
   Trepanation to remove brain pressure.
2. Having his arms splinted and set.
   Having his legs removed.

"To hack the legs off me? Not yet. Not till I've seen him."

1. Esther told him.
   Drusus told him.
2. Messala told him.
   Pilate told him.

Messala told Judah on his deathbed. No one was really killed while filming the race scene, although sometimes this rumor surfaces because of the realistic crashes.

1. Rome.
   Tiberius.
2. Pilate.
   Arrius.

"The deed was not Messala's. I knew him well before the cruelty of Rome spread in his blood. Rome destroyed Messala as surely as Rome has destroyed my family."

1. Sheik Ilderim.
   Messala.
2. Balthasar.
   Esther.

The Valley of Lepers was filmed at the Salone Caves, which was a marble quarry near Rome. They said these caves were responsible for making Rome marble instead of brick.

1. Jesus.
   Messala.
2. Tiberius.
   Her father.

"You seem to be now the very thing you set out to destroy… Hatred is turning you to stone. It's as though you had become Messala."

1. Hid it in his cloak.
   Bit it to see if it was real.
2. Gave it to the next person who passes.
   Dumped it on the ground.

The blind man dumped the money on the ground. At one point in history, lepers were given special money so they would not spread the disease through it.

1. Esther.
   Miriam.
2. Flavia.
   Tirzah.

Martha Scott (September 22, 1912—May 28, 2003) was chosen for Miriam after the initial actor in the role could not drop her British accent. Scott also played Charlton Heston's mother in "The Ten Commandments."

1. He offered Him a drink of water.
   He carried part of His cross for Him.
2. He prevented the soldiers from kicking Him.
   He got in the way of the whip, so it didn't strike Jesus.

Ben-Hur gave Jesus a drink of water. The water theme ran throughout the movie—from the time Ben-Hur was thirsty as a slave, to the ramming of the galley on the water, and after the visit to the leper colony where Ben-Hur said he was thirsty.

1. Underneath a tree.
   In Ben-Hur's house.
2. In a cave.
   In the temple.

They took shelter in a cave. After Lew Wallace wrote "Ben-Hur" and it became a success, it was first turned into a stage production complete with chariots on treadmills and a sea battle using cloth waves. Twenty million people saw it.