Judah Ben-Hur Whether that was a proper name, or the person was being referred to as "the son of Hur" is not clear. The specific meaning of "Hur" is also unclear; among other possibilities, it may mean "something white" or "hollow or depressed ground". "The Count of Monte Cristo" was the inspiration for Ben-Hur; the main character Edmond Dantes is falsely accused, escapes his imprisonment and seeks vengeance on those responsible for his imprisonment. Judah Ben-Hur is a Jewish prince of Jerusalem who is descended from a royal family of Judaea; son of Ithamar; enslaved by the Romans and freed by Quintus
Ben-Hur (1959 film) however. The Tunberg script had Ben-Hur and Messala reuniting and falling out in a single scene. Vidal broke the scene in two, so that the men first reunite at the Castle Antonia and then later argue and end their friendship at Ben-Hur's home. Vidal also added small character touches to the script, such as Messala's purchase of a brooch for Tirzah and Ben-Hur's purchase of a horse for Messala. Vidal claimed that he worked on the first half of the script (everything up to the chariot race), and scripted 10 versions of the scene where Ben-Hur confronts Messala and begs