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
Chu-Chin-Chow (1925 film) Chu-Chin-Chow (1925 film) Chu-Chin-Chow is a 1923 British-German silent adventure film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Betty Blythe, Herbert Langley and Randle Ayrton. It is based on the extraordinarily successful stage musical "Chu Chin Chow" by Oscar Asche, with music by Frederic Norton, that ran in London from 1916 to 1921. Wilcox had a box office success with "Flames of Passion" (1922) starring imported Hollywood actor Mae Marsh. This enabled him to raise the ₤20,000 to buy the film rights – a record amount at the time. The cost of making the film was another ₤20,000. To save money,