1920s Religious Epic Movies: Ben Hur, Noah`s Ark
Ben-Hur Is Still Seen Today While Noah’s Ark Is Virtually Unknown
Nov 12, 2008
The 1920s was a golden age for biblical movie spectaculars. Leading the way in this era was Cecil B. DeMille who latched unto a money making formula of combining spectacle and religion with a little sex thrown in. This mixture can be seen in two of his classic movies from this period -- The Ten Commandments (1923) and The King of Kings (1927). However, these were not the only religious blockbusters from that period.
Two other religious films from the 1920s also drew large audiences. One, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, was based on the popular novel of the same name written by the Civil War general, Lew Wallace. The other, Noah’s Ark, used the same technique that DeMille had in The Ten Commandments. It combined a Bible story with a modern tale.
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925 - 150 min.)
Ramon Navarro is charismatic as Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince, whose family is falsely accused of a crime. He is sentenced to life as a galley slave and his property taken while his mother and sister are sent to prison where he later mistakenly believes that they have died. Eventually regaining his freedom, he sets out to accomplish two goals: To get revenge against the former friend who framed him, the Roman officer, Messala (Francis X. Bushman); and, secondly, to raise an army for a man called The Messiah, a person that Ben-Hur, at first, incorrectly believes will overthrow Roman rule.
Despite numerous production problems and delays, director Fred Niblo was able to create a film which by any measurement, is a classic epic movie. Filmed in Italy and California, at a cost of nearly $40,000,000 in today’s dollars, Ben-Hur is filled with memorable scenes, both secular and religious, many of them enhanced by two-strip Technicolor or tinting. Of particular note are the birth of Christ; the naval battle, utilizing full size ships and hundreds of extras; and the chariot race, which is every bit as exciting as the one in The 1959 remake directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston.
Clips from the 1925 version can be seen here.
Noah’s Ark (1928 - 135 min.)
The little known Noah’s Ark is a unique and sometimes odd movie that is still entertaining. Filmed during the transition period from silent movies to talkies, it features both title cards and spoken dialogue, thus making it the last silent religious epic and also the first talking religious epic. It’s oddity is that it manages to blend World War I, Noah, Moses, and even the Lord‘s Prayer, together!
Like Griffith’s Intolerance and DeMille’s original Ten Commandments, the movie has two parallel stories. The first is set during “the war to end all wars” and follows the adventures of an American soldier (George O’Brien), his German wife (Delores Costello), and his best friend (Guinn Williams), another American soldier.
Costello is accused of being a German spy, but before her sentence can be carried out the town that they are in is bombarded and the three are trapped underground. Trapped with them is an old minister who compares the “deluge of war” with the biblical flood. It is at this point that the movie moves to the Noah story, which is a highly embellished tale featuring such Mosaic elements as a burning bush, a mountain that opens up, and stone tablets with burning letters.
Director Michael Curtiz, later known for the classic Casablanca, is able to get earnest performances from all the major actors -- who appear as characters in both stories -- and never lets either story drag. Although it is a little disconcerting when the movie jumps from title cards to spoken dialogue and back again, the use of sound and special effects throughout is quite good. The flood scenes are so realistic that one source claims that three extras actually drowned during the filming.
At heart an anti-war movie, as well as religious epic, Noah’s Ark is occasionally seen on TCM.
