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.  

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month: Emile Kuri, first Hispanic recipient of an Oscar

Emile Kuri, born June 11, 1907 in Cuernavaca, Mexico, was a set decorator who won two Academy Awards for Best Art Direction and was nominated fore six more.

In 1942, he was nominated for Best Art Direction for Silver Queen, becoming the first Hispanic to be nominated for an Academy Award in any category. He won the Academy Award in 1949 for The Heiress, and again in 1954 for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  

He received nominations for Carrie (1952), Executive Suite (1954), Executive Suite (1954), The Absent-Minded Professor (1961), Mary Poppins (1964), and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).

Kuri passed away in October 2000.

Sergei Korolev, father of the Soviet space program, born 1907

Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, born January 12, 1907 in Russia, was responsible for developing Sputnik 1 and sending Laika and the first human (Yuri Gagarin) in space.  He was arrested in 1938 on a false charge and spent almost 6 years in a Soviet prison.  Against all odds, he actually survived and was recognized for his skills in rocket design.

He directed the Soviet space program and stunned the world when Sputnik 1 was successfully launched in 1957.

Korolev died unexpectedly in 1966 and the Soviet dream of putting a man on the moon died with him.

Daphne du Maurier born 1907

Daphne du Maurier,  born May 13, 1907 in Cornwall, England, gave us some unforgettable novels of romance and suspense.  Among her best known are Rebecca and The Birds, both made into movies by Alfred Hitchcock.  Although she is reagarded as a romance novelist (which she did NOT like), her stories seldom had the "happily ever after" ending and were usually more somber.

She passed away in Cornwall her birth place, April 15, 1989.

Daphne Du Maurier, author of "The Birds" born in 1907

Daphne du Maurier, born May 13, 1907, wrote such romantic thrillers as "Rebecca" and "The Birds", both of which were turned into movies by Alfred Hitchcock.  I read "The Birds" in junior high (that was 15 years ago!) and although the theme of the movie was the same as the  story, the chain of events were totally different.  Still, both were exciting!

She was granted the ceremonial title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1969.
The movie "Rebecca" is an excellent mystery.

Here is the iconic phone booth scene with Tippi Hedren from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds".  The thing to do when thousands of birds are attacking is to run OUTSIDE!

Happy birthday, Oklahoma!

 

The American Bison

 

 On November 16, 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state in the U.S.  She's seen her share of hardship over the years, even when she was known as Indian Territory:  the Trail of Tears, the Tulsa race riots, the Dust Bowl, the Murrah building bombing, the current regime.

The Pioneer Woman statue

Despite that (and tornadoes), she's still what I call home.