Ben-Hur (1925 film) was was the most expensive silent film ever made, with costs totaling $3.9 million compared with an average film cost then of $158,000. The movie garnered more than $9 million in its initial run, and solidified MGM’s reputation as the premier studio in Hollywood. It laid the groundwork for the immensely successful 1959 remake that won a record-setting 11 Academy Awards.
Now in the public domain,[1] this movie features the famous chariot race and an intricate back-story on completing the film.[2] The movie took two years to film but the chariot race was filmed in one day at what is now the intersection of Venice and La Cienega Boulevards in Los Angeles (in contrast to the remake, which took a year to film that famous scene). Famous actors and actresses are in the stands as the studio gave everyone a day off to film that scene.