Offered here is a vintage original 8x10 in. US single-weight glossy from the epic silent film historical drama BEN-HUR: A TALE OF THE CHRIST, released in 1925 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and directed by Fred Niblo. Ramon Novarro stars as a Jewish prince who seeks to find his family (Claire McDowell, Kathleen Key) and revenge himself upon his childhood friend (Francis X. Bushman) who had him wrongly imprisoned.

The image features an exterior medium shot from the film's celebrated "chariot race" sequence inside the Circus Maximus set as Juddah Ben-Hur (Ramon Novarro), driving a chariot with Arabian horses for Sheik Ilderim (Mitchell Lewis) as he looks over at his former friend, the Roman officer Messala (Francis X. Bushman),  whom he is racing neck-and-neck with. Printed on single-weight stock with a glossy finish, this vintage original photograph is in fine condition with approximately four creases of varying sizes on the top right corner and random small signs of discoloration in the borders. The image quality is very sharp with fine detail and nice contrast.

The first round of footage of the chariot race, which was filmed in Italy, claimed the life of a stunt man and over a hundred horses. Ultimately, the Italian chariot race footage was thrown out and the whole thing was re-shot in California. Although no humans were killed in the California chariot race, there were many injuries, and the loss of horses remained high. Director Fred Niblo offered a prize to the stunt driver who won the "race," prompting a degree of urgency and recklessness in the driving that is very real indeed, and the pile-up in the final lap was a genuine accident.