Q 01/05

Who directed the 1959 film Ben-Hur?

A) William Wyler

B) Anthony Mann

C) Cecil B. DeMille

D) David Lean

Answer · why

A) William Wyler

Wyler had been one of 30 assistant directors on the 1925 silent version and later joked that it took a Jew to make a good film about Christ.

Q 02/05

How many Academy Awards did Ben-Hur (1959) win, a record at the time?

A) Eight

B) Nine

C) Ten

D) Eleven

Answer · why

D) Eleven

Only Titanic (1998) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2004) have since matched the total; none has beaten it.

Q 03/05

Which two later films have tied Ben-Hur's Oscar haul?

A) Gone with the Wind and Titanic

B) Titanic and The Return of the King

C) Lawrence of Arabia and The Last Emperor

D) West Side Story and Gandhi

Answer · why

B) Titanic and The Return of the King

Both matched the record; The Return of the King went a perfect 11-for-11 on its nominations.

Q 04/05

Who wrote the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ?

A) Henryk Sienkiewicz

B) Edward Bulwer-Lytton

C) Lew Wallace

D) Charles Kingsley

Answer · why

C) Lew Wallace

A Union general at Shiloh, he later served as U.S. minister to the Ottoman Empire and retired to Crawfordsville, Indiana.

Q 05/05

Which best-selling novel did Ben-Hur surpass to become the top-selling American novel of the 19th century?

A) Moby-Dick

B) The Last of the Mohicans

C) Uncle Tom's Cabin

D) Little Women

Answer · why

C) Uncle Tom's Cabin

It stayed atop the all-time list until 1936, when Margaret Mitchell's Civil War epic overtook it, then reclaimed the crown after the 1959 film sent re...