‘Juda Ben Hur’ is 100

In the birth centenary year of Charlton Heston, Ranjan Das Gupta salutes the actor famous for his portrayal of Ben Hur

You fight your wars, let us fight our battles.” This memorable dialogue by Charlton Heston in ‘55 Days in Peking’ addressed to David Niven remains a highlight of the Samuel Bronston classic of 1963. As the American major in the film, Heston  proved he was an actor of true grit and substance. Blessed with good height, baritone and robust physique, he belonged to the league of golden actors of Hollywood like Gary Cooper, Gregory Peck and Cary Grant. He was certainly not as gifted as Henry Fonda and not unpredictable like Robert Mitchum. However, he was a great star with undisputed acting abilities.

Heston proved his worth as an actor in films like ‘The Incas’, ‘The President’s Lady’ and ‘Nairobi’. Yet, he is most remembered for his inimitable performance as Judah Ben Hur in the William Wyler classic ‘Ben-Hur’. He excelled in historical characters and fitted the role of Ben Hur to the hilt. During the great chariot race in the film, he practiced driving the chariot for one whole month. Undoubtedly his performance was top-notch, especially, in his histrionic confrontations with Jack Hawkins during the boat sequence. He did win the coveted Academy Award for his acting.    

The actor was also a good natured human being. It is rarely known he helped many artistes and technicians in dire need of money but never took credit for it. While performing with Sophia Loren in ‘El Cid’, Charlton Heston used a particular body language which had a mixture of shoulders, hands and feet in motion with a rare rhythm. Similarly in ‘Ten Commandments’ he faced the great Yul Bryner with rare confidence and both never tried to dominate each other.

Heston’s favourite actresses were Sophia Loren and Ava Gardener. He respected Katharine Hepburn and Ingrid Bergman and was a big admirer of Marlon Brando and Richard Burton. When Gregory Peck and director William Wyler cast him in ‘The Big Country’, he was pleased to work with Gregory Peck. They both never tried to overshadow each other and their onscreen confrontations were natural. In fact, Gregory Peck did confess he enjoyed working the most with Heston, Anthony Quinn and Omar Sharif. Heston also was very nostalgic in the ’80s remembering his work with Gregory Peck.

When Heston came across actor Hendry Fonda during one of the Oscar ceremonies, the master veteran congratulated him and addressed him as Moses from ‘The Ten Commandments’. Heston was moved to tears of joy and shook hands with Fonda describing him as his idol. Similarly, once when he came across Elizabeth Taylor, Heston stated he wanted to paint the dazzling beauty on canvas, live. To this she only smiled and said, Juda Ben Hur was going overboard in praising her beauty.

In his later days Heston made average films like ‘Skyjacked’ and ‘Two Minute Warning’ stand at the box office on sheer dint of his performances. Brad Pitt and Leonardo D’Caprio have stated many times that they can never match Heston. In his centenary, he is still remembered as Juda Ben Hur to this day.