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Six
AMERICAN CINE MAT O GRAPHER
January, 1926
E. Burton Steene, A. S. C, explaining to Ramon A ovarro operation of Akeley camera with which Steene recorded remarkable shots on the Circus Maximus set.
Ramon Novarro and Francis X. Bushman were the principals, 42 cinematographers were stationed about the mammoth amphitheatre at every conceivable angle and in such a manner that every beat of the horses' hoofs, the flexing of muscles, the careening chariots, the tense expressions of the spectators as the race came to its thrilling climax were registered.
Well-Laid Plans The arrangements for the filming of the Circus Maximus act were made by Percy Hilburn, and the writer. Weeks of detail work preceded the actual filming of the scenes but so well had the pre
liminaries been taken cared of in anticipation of the great event that it was carried to the climax with a precision that drew unstinted praise and commendation from Louis B. Mayer, vice president in charge of production, Fred Niblo, the director, as well as the stars of the classic. A. S. C. Members In addition to the writer, among the other members of the American Society of Cinematographers taking prominent parts in the filming of "Ben Hur" race scenes were: H. Lyman Broening, Max Du Pont, Frank Good and E. Burton Steene. Mr. Hilburn was in charge of the cinema
tographic brigade on the first day of the shooting, but thereafter the writer was in charge of the remainder of the work which was specially directed by Reeves (Breezy) Eason.
The work of E. Burton Steene, veteran cinematographer and expert with the Akeley camera, alone is said to have saved the M.-G.-M. company many thousands of dollars. Steene, left to his own devices on a parallel 120 feet in the air, got the crux of the entire race with unbelievable clearness — namely, the crash of the chariots of Bushman and Novarro. Exercising to the utmost the facility of the Akeley camera, of which he is a recognized master, the A. S. C. member kept the careening chariots of the two principals both in the picture, with the result that every detail of the impact shows in the finished picture. By the use of a seventeen-inch lens, Steene fills the entire screen with the crash. That this shot, which it is believed will become historic, could not be duplicated in a hundred fold of efforts is the opinion of the cinematographic experts who have viewed its exhibition.
All Details Captured Regardless of what Bushman and Novarro were doing in the wild ride around the track they were always covered by the "eyes" of a dozen cameras. Automiobiles made especially for the occasion were so built that ample room was provided for a veritable battery of cinematographers and these machines kept pace with the principals as they whirled the track, thereby enabling the cinematographers to register every detail of the struggling horses and men as they fought for victory.