Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ has Ben Hur among her lovers, which serves as one of the hints the "time travel" is actually a form of reality manipulation. More than one tribute to Wallace's most famous book and its fictional hero have been erected near Wallace's home in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The General Lew Wallace Study and Museum honors the character of Judah Ben-Hur with a limestone frieze of his imagined face installed over the entrance to the study. Wallace's grave marker at the cemetery in Crawfordsville includes a line from the Balthazar character in "Ben-Hur": "I would not give one hour of life as a
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925 film) novel, and was adapted into a stage play which ran for twenty-five years. In 1922, two years after the play's last tour, the Goldwyn company purchased the film rights to "Ben-Hur". The play's producer, Abraham Erlanger, put a heavy price on the screen rights. Erlanger was persuaded to accept a generous profit participation deal and total approval over every detail of the production. Choosing the title role was difficult for June Mathis. Rudolph Valentino and dancer Paul Swan were considered until George Walsh was chosen. When asked why she chose him, she answered it was because of his eyes and