As I write this I am receiving series in excess of 40 pictures of the 1925 silent version of Ben Hur.
I dare not attempt to enter it on Flicker lest they carry me out of here in a straight jacket.
However I find the subject especially interesting since my father told me many stories of his youth in Hot Springs where the Woodcocks owned an apartment house and nearby grocery store right down town from which he incredibly drove a delivery truck.
Aside the lots of all the circuses that came to town, his favorite haunt was the Opera House where on occasion they would allow him to help move in some of the shows.
His favorite by far was Ben Hur and he described how the turntables were assembled and the number of people, horses, camels, etc. were involved in the production.
But alas, until Google returns I had better rummage around further in my Hoxie Tucker shoe box.
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Friday, January 17, 2014
Another Epic From Eric Beheim!
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All of the important silent films (including BEN-HUR) had special music scores prepared for them for their first-run engagements in New York City and Los Angeles. The special BEN-HUR score was also used when the film toured the hinterlands in 1926 as a road show attraction. In addition to a conductor, the road show company also carried a nucleus orchestra that included three trumpet players to cover the many fanfares in the score. On the night BEN-HUR played Columbus, Ohio, the 2nd Trumpet player fell ill. The theater’s principal trumpet player was not available to come in as a substitute, but sent his best student Wilbur E. Crist to sight-read the show. It turned out that on that particular night, the 1st Trumpet player had a sore lip (or claimed to have one.) During the fanfares, he would nudge Wilbur, who would look over to the 1st part, play the fanfare, and then go back to his own part. Forty years later Wilbur Crist was the head of the instrumental music department of the university I attended. He was also my faculty advisor, and when I told him of my interest in silent film music, he related the above story to me. After BEN-HUR went into general release, the special music score was withdrawn and hasn’t been performed for many years. (The restored version being shown today has a new score recorded in England.) We’re currently working on reconstructing and recording the original 1925 score, which is why I’ve been so BEN-HUR minded lately.
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