Ben Hur, first adaption of the Wallace novel, 1907

The first adaption of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, by Kalem Company made its debut December 7, 1907.  It is also a landmark case of copyright infringement by an American studio.  

Sidney Olcott was principal director with assistance from Frank Oakes Rose.  Filming took place over 4 days in October 1907.  William S. Hart starred as Messala, a role he had played in the Broadway production of Ben Hur, from November 1899 to May 1900.

Other actors who are listed as cast, but unverified, were Herman Rottjer as Ben-Hur(?), Gene Gauntier, and Harry T. Morey.

The estate of Lew Wallace, who passed away three years before the motion picture was released, sued Kalem Company since it was produced without the estate's permission.  According to screenwriter Gauntier, it was common practice in the early silent era to ignore copyrights and dismiss proprietary rights of original authors of intellectual properties. The court ruled against Kalem in May 1908, and later the US Supreme Court upheld the ruling on appeal.  

I enjoyed this 15 min short, but had to keep the imdb.com page open to understand what is going on, since there are no stills with words except when the scene changes.  One thing I noticed is the camera is always stationary.  It does not move from side to side or up and down.  Whatever is directly in front of the camera is what gets filmed.  During the chariot race, the viewer only sees the chariots when they pass in front of the camera.  With the low quality of the film and the brief glimpses of the driver, the viewer cannot tell who the drivers are or what their placement in the race is.

Still, it is great to watch.