How a desperate studio gamble created the most expensive film of its era

Art · Published 30 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Facing financial collapse and the rise of television, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer bet its future on a massive religious epic. The 1959 production of Ben-Hur became a record-breaking spectacle, requiring thousands of extras, vast sets, and a complex, multi-writer script that remains a subject of intense debate among film historians today.

By the late 1950s, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was in dire financial straits, pressured by the 1948 consent decree that forced studios to sell their theater chains and the growing popularity of television. In a high-stakes effort to save the studio, executive Joseph Vogel revived a long-delayed project: a remake of the 1925 silent film Ben-Hur. The production was monumental, with a budget that ballooned from an initial $7 million to $15.175 million—the most expensive film ever made at the time. When adjusted for inflation, this investment reaches approximately $168 million in constant dollars.

The film's creation was marked by immense logistical challenges and creative friction. Pre-production began in Italy at Cinecittà in October 1957, eventually utilizing over 10,000 extras, 2,500 horses, and 200 camels. Director William Wyler, who took the job for a record-breaking base salary of $350,000, famously clashed with the script's development. While Karl Tunberg received primary credit, the screenplay passed through several hands, including Maxwell Anderson, S. N. Behrman, Christopher Fry, and Gore Vidal. Vidal later claimed he introduced a homoerotic subtext to the relationship between Judah Ben-Hur and his antagonist, Messala, a assertion that remains a point of contention among scholars and the film's participants.

Technically, the film pushed the boundaries of 1950s cinema. Cinematographer Robert L. Surtees utilized the 'MGM Camera 65' process, which employed 70mm anamorphic lenses to achieve a 2.76:1 aspect ratio. Despite Wyler's personal dislike for widescreen formats, he and Surtees used the technology to maintain his signature composition in depth. The result was a massive success; the film premiered in November 1959, became the highest-grossing release of that year, and secured a record eleven Academy Awards. It remains a landmark of the era, later selected for preservation in the National Film Registry for its cultural significance.

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