"BEN HUR."

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19152, 8 November 1927, Page 13

"BEN HUR."

A MIGHTY SPECTACLE. AT GRAND THEATRE. "Ben Hur" is continuing it* triumphant season at the Grand Theatre this week, and there seems to be no diminishing of the crowds of theatregoers to see this wonderfully moving story of the most momentous and significant period of' the world's history. There was a capacity house at the Theatre last evening. The story offers exceptional opportunities for gorgeous settings on a lavish scale, and the 'Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios have produced thorn with consummate artistry and immense splendour. The romantic appeal of Lew Wallace's mighty book has kept it popular with the English-speaking races, while other works have flashed into prominence and been long forgotten. The story it 'tells is mellow with the wisdom of the ages, and as new as to-morrow. Sympathetically .interpreted as it has been, it has become an epic of the screen. The entry is one of revenge and of love. Revenge that is sought by Ben Hur for the wrong done him and his noble House by the Romans. When the new Seiiator, Valerius Gratus, is being welcomed to Jerusalem, and as lie makes his triumphal way along crowded streets, a tile from an overhanging roof falls from the palace of Judah, Prince of Hur, and strikes his head. That the occurrence was an accident is nn explanation which carries no weight with the Remans, and Ben Hur is sent to the galleys for life, and his mother and sister to the hideous dungeon of Antonia. Ben Hur slavos in the awful conditions of the galleys but never forgets his one purpose in life, to Bvenge the indignity and suffering so unjustly done to his House. At*last opportunity comes, and in a chariot race which, as n spectacle,, will stand as one of .the greatest motion picture scenes yet produced, ho gains both his revenuo and victory over the haughty patriarchs of Rome.

There is a prologue to the story proper, just as there is in the book, wherein the qußßt of the Three Wise Men of the East, their following of tho star, and their eventual arrival tit the stable in Bethlehem, provide some scenes and moments of exquisite beauty, emotional and spiritual force. William Blake's famous painting, the "Star of Bethlehem," has been completely reproduced in colour and detail for this scene. For some of the scenes in the picture, scenes in which the Christ invisibly figures, the masterpieces of tlalian, British, and Flemish masters have been utilised, so that Da "Vinci's gorgeous "Last Supper." Tissot's colourful "Pool of Siloam." Raphael's "Sistine Madonna," Munkacsy's "Christ Before Pilate," Rubens's "Holy Family," and Dore's "Dante's Inferno" for the harrowing scene in the galleys are the splendid tableaux which give the film greatness and richness. The artists who play the roles in "Ben Hur" were recruitod from the most distinguished ranks. Ramon Novarro, as Ben Hur, is rebellious, bitter, dutiful, romantic, an array of varying moods in a winning personality; Francis X. Bushman as Messala is a Roman; Simonides is perfectly played by Nigel de Brulier, Esther wistfully given by May McAvoy, Joseph the Carpenter is portrayed with gravity and dignity by Winter Hall, the brilliant actor from Christchurch, while the Mary of Betty Bronson is a cameo of quiet effacement and youthful dignity. A fine prologue introduces the story proper, Mr David McGill singing the "Star of Bethlehem." The Grand Orchestra, specially augmented for the season, interprets a musical score written for the picture, and a qaartet sings "Abide with Me" during the Crucifixion scenes.