The Bible in film Christ with a climactic resurrection scene in color. "King of Kings" was re-released in 1931 with a synchronized musical score. MGM's 1925 silent-era "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ", starring Ramon Novarro was the most expensive film of its time. It included two spectacular scenes: the sea galley battle with pirates and the famous chariot-race. Another "swords and sandals" epic of the 1920s was "Noah's Ark" which combined title cards with spoken dialogue. The major studios produced fewer epics during the 1940s due in part to wartime scarcity of resources. After the war, some of Hollywood's highest grossing films were
Dr. Dolittle (1998 film) 1967 as a musical under the same title, a closer (albeit still very loose) adaptation of the book. The earlier film was a box office bomb, but still remains a cult classic and a two-time Academy Award-winner. Despite its PG-13 rating, it was marketed as a family film. The 1998 film was a box office success, despite mixed reviews from critics. The film's success generated four sequels; "Dr. Dolittle 2", "Dr. Dolittle 3", "", and "", the latter three being direct-to-video. As a boy, John Dolittle displays an ability to talk to and understand animals, starting with his pet dog.