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cover of episode Ben-Hur (1959)

Ben-Hur (1959)

2025/5/26
logo of podcast WHAT WENT WRONG

WHAT WENT WRONG

Shownotes Transcript

How did a studio on the brink, a Jewish director, and a second-rate star turn a pulpy, near-blasphemous mass market Christian book into a blockbuster for the ages? Join Chris and Lizzie as they travel back in time to a tinsel town in painful transition to learn why MGM bet it all on a remake of the costliest film of the silent era, examine Gore Vidal's controversial contributions to the script, and test Mussolini's assertion that film is the ultimate weapon.

***CORRECTIONS: **Chris mispronounces both Cinecitta Studios (should be "chin-eh-cheetah") and Quo Vadis ("Vah-dis").

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