Vintage original oversized 11x14 in. double-weight photograph from the epic silent film drama, BEH-HUR: A TALE OF THE CHRIST, released in 1925 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Fred Niblo. The film stars Ramon Novarro in the title role and features Francis X. Bushman as his friend-turned-nemesis, Messala. The image on this publicity photograph is a testament of the artistry of the Hollywood photographers during the 1920's. It depicts a full-length image of the Roman officer Messala (Francis X. Bushman) enjoying the charms of the beautiful and seductive Iras (Carmel Myers) inside a room which is open to the outdoor evening scene behind them. The lighting is especially attractive in this photograph and the details of the actors' costumes can be appreciated to full advantage.

Printed on double-weight stock with a matte finish, this vintage original oversize photograph is in very good+ condition with soiling within the top border; signs of wear on the tips of each corner; several small areas of soiling within the right border; several small creases (0.5 inches and less) on the bottom right corner within the borders; random signs of wear along the edge of the bottom border with a small crease and a tiny nick on this border to the left of center; a 2-in. vertical crease on the left border above the bottom corner with signs of wear on the corner itself; and a small area of tiny dots in the left border above the center. A prior owner had matted this photograph and affixed it to the matting with masking tape, which left a 0.5-in. wide area of discoloration around the outer edges of the back side of the photograph (which has not affect on the image itself).

This is a beautiful vintage original oversize photograph from one of the greatest silent films of the 1920's.

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; 1925; dir: Fred Niblo; cast: Ramon Novarro, Francis X. Bushman, May McAvoy, Betty Bronson, Claire MaDowell, Kathleen Key, Carmel Myers, Nigel De Brulier, Mitchell Lewis, Leo White, Frank Currier, Charles Belcher, Dale Fuller, Winter Hall.