Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925 film) his body. Gertrude Olmstead was cast as Esther. While on location in Italy, Walsh was fired and replaced by Ramon Novarro. The role of Esther went to May McAvoy. Shooting began in Rome, Italy in October 1923 under the direction of Charles Brabin who was replaced shortly after filming began. Additional recastings (including Ramon Novarro as Ben-Hur) and a change of director caused the production's budget to skyrocket. After two years of difficulties and accidents, the production was eventually moved back to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Culver City, California and production resumed in the spring of 1925. B. Reeves Eason and Christy
Humoresque (1946 film) leaning his soulful face against that violin or Miss Crawford violently emoting, . . . you may enjoy it very much." Franz Waxman received an Academy Award nomination for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. The film was nominated for the American Film Institute's 2002 list AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Passions. The films budget was estimated to be around $2,164,000. The film fared well at the box office and grossed $3,399,000 and the film was hailed a success. With inflation in 2007 the gross is $35,737,750. According to Warner Bros records the film earned $2,281,000 domestically