November 18, 1959: "Ben-Hur" Premieres

Stephen Boyd (left) and Charlton Heston

November 18, 1959: Ben-Hur premieres, directed by William Wyler, based on the 1880 novel by Lew Wallace. It had previously been filmed in 1925, starring Mexican actor Ramon Navarro in the title role, and Francis X. Bushman as the villain.

That was in black & white, and silent. This was in Technicolor, in full sound, and filmed in Italy with the largest budget ($15.175 million -- about $152 million in 2022 money), and the largest sets built, of any film produced at the time.

The story takes place in Jerusalem, in the early 1st Century AD, in the years immediately before, during, and after the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. Judah Ben-Hur, played by Charlton Heston, already the preeminent performer of "historical epics," is a wealthy Jewish prince and merchant.

A childhood friend, Messala, played by Stephen Boyd, becomes commander of the nearby Roman fortress. While Judah has remained Jewish, Messala has totally bought into the Roman Empire's way of doing things. One thing leads to another, and Messala throws Judah into slavery, leading to the famous rowing scene.

After 3 years as a galley slave, Judah is assigned to Roman Consul Quintus Arrius' flagship. Arrius (Jack Hawkins) notices Judah's determination and self-discipline, and, after Judah saves his life in a battle with Macedonian pirates, Arrius petitions Emperor Tiberius to free him.

In Rome, Judah becomes a champion charioteer, driving the horses of Sheik Ilderrim (Hugh Griffith), and reunites with former girlfriend Esther (Israeli actress Haya Harareet). He enters a chariot race against Messala, in front of the new Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate (Frank Thring), resulting in one of the most spectacular scenes ever filmed. Messala attempts to cheat, but, in response, a move by Judah results in Messala's method resulting in his own wreck and death. With his dying breath, Messala tells his friendy-turned-enemy that his mother, Miriam (Martha Scott), and his sister, Tirzah (Cathy O'Donnell), are alive, and where to find them.

Judah hears about a prophet he seeks who preaches love and forgiveness and urges Judah to cast off his consuming hate and vengeance. Judah and Esther attend the Sermon on the Mount. Soon afterward, Judah meets Pilate, who warns him against using his victory to lead a rebellion against Roman rule. Judah renounces his Roman citizenship. He finds out Tirzah is dying, and seeks Jesus to heal her.

But he is too late, and is a witness to the walk down the Via Dolorosa. History repeats itself: He recognizes Jesus (Claude Heater, uncredited) as a man who once tried to give him water as a galley slave, and tries to return the favor; but, as in the earlier incident, the gift is prevented by a Roman soldier (not the same one). After witnessing the Crucifixion, Judah walks through a storm to the cave where Miriam Tirzah and Esther are hiding. As the storm ends, he sees his mother and sister cured of their maladies, and accepts the miracle and forgives his enemies.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer spent $14.7 million, almost as much as it cost to make the film in the first place, to market it. It worked: Ben-Hur became the highest-grossing film premiering in 1959, and the 2nd-highest grossing film in history to that point, behind Gone with the Wind (also an MGM film). It became the 1st film to win 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Wyler, Best Actor for Heston, and Best Supporting Actor for Griffith.

Cathy O'Donnell (Tirzah) married Robert Wyler, brother of Ben-Hur director William Wyler. She died of cancer in 1970. Haya Harareet (Esther) died in 2021, and was the last surviving credited member of the film's cast.

Also premiering on this date was A Summer Place, based on the previous year's novel by Sloan Wilson. It starred Richard Egan and Dorothy McGuire as lovers reunited after 20 years, with Sandra Dee as the former's daughter and Troy Donahue as the latter's son, who begin their own affair.

The film was pretty steamy by the standards of the time. But now, it’s best known for its theme song, conducted by Percy Faith, which held the Number 1 spot on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart for 9 weeks in the Winter and Spring of 1960.

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November 18, 1959 was a Wednesday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. No games were scheduled in the NHL. There were 3 games scheduled for the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Minneapolis Lakers, 106-105 at the Minneapolis Armory.

* The Syracuse Nationals beat the Boston Celtics, 138-103 at the Onondaga County War Memorial (now the Upstate Medical University Arena) in Syracuse, New York.

* And the Detroit Pistons beat the Cincinnati Royals, 110-93 at the Cincinnati Gardens.

April 17, 1924: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Is Founded

April 17, 1924: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. is founded in Los Angeles, by Marcus Loew, owner of Metro Pictures and the Loew's theater chain; Samuel Goldwyn owner of Goldwyn Pictures; and Louis B. Mayer, owner of Louis B. Mayer Pictures. "MGM" came to practically define the American film industry – in ways both wonderful and not-so-wonderful.

Goldwyn brought his Leo the Lion logo, and his slogan, the Latin "Ars Gratia Artis," meaning "Art for Art's Sake," with him from his previous studio. Howard Dietz, Goldwyn's chief publicist, created the logo and the slogan for Goldwyn Pictures in 1916. Why a lion? It was the mascot of Dietz' Alma Mater, Columbia University. (Maybe he should have worked for Columbia Pictures.)

The 1st MGM film, released on June 23, 1924, was Revelation, starring Viola Dana as a dancer whose fortunes change when a painting of her becomes famous. Like all motion pictures of the time, it was silent, and filmed in black & white.

Marcus Loew did not live to enjoy the studio's great successes. He never even saw a full-length talking picture: He died of a heart attack, only 57 years old, on September 5, 1927, a month before Warner Brothers premiered The Jazz Singer. Three months later, on January 5, 1928, MGM released its first sound film, an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, but with a happy ending. The title was changed to simply Love, so it could be billed as "John Gilbert and Greta Garbo in Love."

(The film had been released the year before, silent, but a voice track was added for the re-release. It would be 1930 before Anna Christie was released, Garbo's 1st official talking picture, with the slogan, "GARBO TALKS!" She did so many serious, even tragic roles that, in 1939, when she did her 1st comedy, Ninotchka, it was advertised with "GARBO LAUGHS!")

The advent of sound films also meant a recording of the lion roaring, which has been adapted a few times. Starting in the 1930s, MGM's slogan became "More stars than there are in Heaven." Dietz wrote that slogan, too. The studio became known for big splashy musicals, especially once color arrived, including The Wizard of Oz in 1939.

Of course, those stars were kept under tight control, including having "morality clauses" in their contracts, to avoid the many scandals of the silent era. Wizard of Oz star Judy Garland was an especially tragic case: They starved her to keep her weight down, and also gave her diet pills. Then they gave her amphetamines to keep her awake and working late. Apparently, child labor laws, and child endangerment laws, did not apply on the MGM lot.

The studio also became known for film series, including 6 Tarzan films from 1932 to 1942, 6 Thin Man films from 1934 to 1947, 16 Andy Hardy films starring Mickey Rooney (and sometimes co-starring Garland) from 1937 to 1958, 9 Dr. Kildare films from 1938 to 1942, and 6 Lassie films from 1943 to 1949. They've also made 5 different versions of Ben-Hur, and MGM's "Golden Age" is said to span from the 1926 silent version until the 1959 color version that won a then-record 11 Academy Awards.

In 1956, MGM sold the Loew's theater chain. In 1980, it acquired the bankrupt United Artists, giving it the rights to, among other things, the James Bond, Pink Panther and Rocky franchises. Through April 17, 2022, MGM's 6 highest-grossing films are Bond films; and 15 of its top 22 are either Bond films or Rocky films. (UPDATE: With the release of Creed III in 2023, make it 16 of its top 23.)

Louis B. Mayer died in 1957, aged 73. Samuel Goldwyn lived until 1974, though his age was in dispute: He claimed to have been 91, but records suggest he may have been as much as 94. Howard Dietz lived on until 1983, at 86.

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April 17, 1924 was a Thursday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 9-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Alex Ferguson -- not the later manager of English soccer team Manchester United -- went the distance for the win, outpitching Waite Hoyt.

Babe Ruth went 1-for-4. Lou Gehrig was still a prospect at this point, and did not play in this season until August 31. Also a prospect was Earle Combs, a 24-year-old center fielder from Kentucky, who made his major league debut the day before, collecting a pinch-hit single. Combs went on to be the earliest-playing Yankee center fielder in the Baseball Hall of Fame. (Joe DiMaggio was elected earlier.)

* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known when Wilbert Robinson managed them from 1914 to 1931), 3-2 at the Polo Grounds. George "High Pockets" Kelly singled Henry "Heinie" Groh home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Wayland Dean outpitched Charles "Dazzy" Vance, both of whom went the distance.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 4-3 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 6-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. George Sisler went 2-for-5.

* The Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates were rained out at Redland Field in Cincinnati. (The ballpark was later renamed Crosley Field.) The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on May 4. The Reds swept, 2-0 and 5-4. Adolfo "Dolf" Luque, one of the earliest Hispanic players, a Cuban so light-skinned that he was counted as "white" and thus allowed to play in the major leagues, allowed 7 hits in the 1st game, but pitched a shutout.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Rogers Hornsby went 1-for-4.

* The Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers were rained out at Navin Field in Detroit. (The ballpark was later renamed Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium.) The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on June 19. The Indians won the opener, 16-5. The Tigers won the nightcap, 3-2, when Lu Blue doubled Bob "Fats" Fothergill home with the winning run in the bottom of the 9th. Between the 2 games, Ty Cobb went 1-for-8 with a walk, and Tris Speaker went 2-for-8 with 2 walks and an RBI. Each was his respective team's manager by this point.

* And the Boston Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies were rained out at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on June 23. The Phils swept, 7-3 and 11-7.