In tribute to the Oscars, we’re going to give out some Oscar awards to the many men, women, and moments who have used media to bring the Bible to the masses through the silver screen, the television screen, as well as audio recordings. I hope you enjoy some of the behind-the-scenes drama behind these spiritual endeavors!
Best Baby – Fraser Heston. On February 12, 1955, Fraser Heston was born to proud parents Lydia and Charlton Heston. Soon afterwards, Lydia received the most unusual telegram. “CONGRATULATIONS: HE’S CAST IN THE PART.” The telegram was from legendary director Cecil B. DeMille. Thus, newborn Fraser was cast as the part of baby Moses in 1956 The Ten Commandments. Fraser did great and did not cry even when the basket began to sink. Heston was also in the water in his swimming trunks. The nurse provided by the labor department informed Heston that “No one can handle him except me.” Heston later wrote, “I summoned the voice I had only recently used to face down Pharoah, ‘Give me that child,’ I said softly. She did.”
Best Easter Villain – Frank Thring. This Australian actor got to play two Easter villains in Biblical epics. First, he played the philosophical Pontius Pilate presiding the chariot race in 1959 Ben-Hur and then as the scheming Herod Antipas in 1961 King of Kings.
Most Seasonal – H.B. Warner. H.B. Warner was a long career, but felt that he had been type casted when he portrayed Jesus in the 1927 King of Kings directed by Cecil DeMille. When Cecil DeMille made his last film, 1956 The Ten Commandments, he arranged for the very weak H.B. Warner to be brought to the set and be filmed for a cameo as the elderly Amminadab who dies before being able to plant a tree in the Promised Land. Thus, sharp eye viewers will recognize him both at Easter AND Christmas – at Easter as the dying old man in The Ten Commandmentsand at Christmas as the kindly drugstore owner Mr. Gower in 1946 It’s A Wonderful Life. You see, Mr. Warner, you did have a wonderful film career!
Best Touching Performance – Sir Laurence Oliver. Laurence Oliver brought Shakespeare to the big screen for many Americans. With his mastery of Elizabethan English, he was a natural fit for the King James Version Bible. He recorded a series of LP records of readings from the Old Testament and Apocrypha. In 1977’s Jesus of Nazarethminiseries, he gave a powerful performance as the open minded and open-hearted Nicodemus. When asked by a reporter if he was the “star” of the miniseries, Sir Oliver replied, “’There is only one star here, the star of Bethlehem.”
Most Moral Authority – Finlay Currie. Finlay Currie with his Scottish actor was delightful in playing supporting characters in movies, especially ones with moral authority. He portrayed the Apostle Peter in 1951 Quo Vadiscomforting the martyrs in Rome, the wiseman Balthasar in the 1959 Ben-Hur searching for the now fully grown Jesus, and as the troubled Pope who is encouraged by a young animal loving monk in the 1961 Francis of Assisi.
Best New Testament Villain – Sir Peter Ustinov. Peter Ustinov was always a joy to watch on the screen, especially as a historical character, and especially as a villain. He played the mad Emperor Nero persecuting Christians in 1951 Quo Vadis and King Herod the Great the villain of Christmas in 1977 Jesus of Nazareth. He “redeemed” himself, however, in his final film appearance, 2003 Luther, as Frederick the Wise, the German prince who protected Martin Luther. He made for a great Frederick, while Joseph Fiennes was a rather boring Luther.
Best Christmas Villain – Christopher Plummer. Another joy to watch on the screen, Christopher Plummer was irritated that he was always being associated with The Sound of Music, a Julie Andrews movie. He made for a lustful, but guilt-ridden Herod Antipas in 1977 Jesus of Nazareth. He was the narrator for the 2003 The Gospel of John, a word-for-word filming of the fourth gospel. In 2017, he played two Christmas villains. He portrayed Scrooge in The Man who Invented Christmas, a bio pic about Charles Dickens, and he was also the voice of King Herod the Great in the animated movie The Star, thus portraying both the father and the son of a rather maniacal Middle-Eastern monarchy.
Best Action Scene – The Chariot Race 1956. This thrilling scene was created by the father-son team of Yakima and Joe Canutt. Native American Yakima Canutt had made a name for himself in early Hollywood as a stunt man and his son Joe, who was close to Heston’s age, followed his footsteps. Yakima had trained teams of horses for the race and worked closely with Heston. Before filming started, Heston confessed, “Yak, I feel comfortable running this team now, but we’re all alone here…I’m not so sure I can cut it with seven other teams out there.” Yakima replied, “Chuck, you just make sure you stay in the chariot. I guarantee you’re going to win the race.” For the most dangerous part of the race, Joe Canutt served as Heston’s double. He was supposed to drive the chariot over the wreckage of another chariot. Without telling his dad, Joe unfastened his safety harness and flipped out of the chariot. When director William Wyler saw the footage, he exclaimed, “We have to use to that!” Yakima argued, “Don’t see how you’re going to do that. I promised Chuck he’d win the race. I don’t believe he can catch that chariot on foot.” Thus, Heston learned that he had to film one more close up shot – of him climbing back into his chariot in the middle of the race!
Best Special Effects – Parting of the Red Sea 1923. Today, most viewers think of Charlton Heston dramatically parting the Red in the Sea in the 1956 The Ten Commandments. And while that is an impressive sequence, I have to give a slight edge to the original 1923 version. While not quite as dramatic, it really does look like that God is using his hands to part the waters.
Best Composer – Miklós Rózsa. This Hungarian American was a genius at musical scores and had a strong sense of artistic integrity. He composed the music for both the 1959 Ben-Hur and the 1961 King of Kings. The 1959 Ben-Hur particularly stands out to me and not just for its rousing intro. Director William Wyler wisely decided not to show the face of Christ or to have him speak. Instead, every time Christ appears on the screen, we hear the Christ theme. For the Sermon on the Mount scene Rózsa created a piece of music that gave the listener the emotional impression that Christ was speaking. Rózsa displayed his artistic integrity when he refused to give in to his producers who insisted that the tune “Adestes Fideles” (O Come All Ye Faithful) be used for the nativity scene. Rózsa argued that the tune would be anachronistic and created his own beautiful melody for Bethlehem.
Best Mother – Martha Scott. Martha Scott was a talented award-winning actress, often appearing on screen and on stage with Charlton Heston. She played his wife twice AND his mother twice. She played Heston’s mother in both 1956 The Ten Commandments and 1959 Ben-Hur. She also gave Heston moral support on a wing and a prayer in the camp favorite disaster film Airport 1975 where Captain Heston is attempting to land a badly damaged airplane while Scott as Sister Beatrice is praying and Sister Ruth (Helen Reddy) is playing the guitar!
Best All Around – Charlton Heston. No surprise here as his name has come up several times on my list. Heston had a lived a full life on and off the camera. Through the 50’s and mid 60’s, he was best known for portraying larger than life historical characters. In the late 60’s, he transitioned into a science fiction/action hero. In the 80’s, he became better known for his politics. In the early 90’s, he began to experience a second wind with small but impressive roles in movies like 1993 Tombstone and 1996 Hamlet. In the late 90’s, he became part of the political debate as the outspoken president of the NRA. In 2002, he announced that he had Alzheimer’s, passing away in the spring of 2008.
Forgotten during all the political debate and such was that Heston really did love the Bible, particularly the King James Version with its Shakespeare language. In film, he portrayed Moses in the 1956 The Ten Commandments, Judah Ben-Hur in the 1959 film, and John the Baptist in 1965 The Greatest Story Ever Told. He also portrayed other famous Church figures from the Renaissance and Reformation era: Cardinal Richelieu, King Henry VIII, and one of my favorites, Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel in 1965 The Agony and the Ecstasy. He even starred in a film that at one point had the working title of “Our Second Adam.” While the title was changed, film critic Pauline Kael also saw the Biblical allusion, writing that Charlton Heston “is the perfect American Adam to work off some American guilt feelings or self-hatred on…” But I still think that the title that they went with was better…..Planet of the Apes. Heston, who provided the voice of God in The Ten Commandments, also played God in the 1990 comedyAlmost An Angel. Heston also had a great sense humor as evidenced when he hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 1993 and did a hilarious Ten Commandments bit with Billy Crystal.
Heston also used his voice for Van Guard records in the late 50’s and early 60’s to record a set of LPS, one based on the five books of Moses and one based on the life of Christ. In the early 90’s, he produced a miniseries Charlton Heston Presents the Bible for A&E Television in which he presented his favorite Bible stories on location in the Holy Land. As part of the project, he recorded even more material, especially the Psalms, for CDs. In 2003, he was also a voice actor for an animated version of Ben-Hur.
Another forgotten tidbit was that Heston was present for the most famous sermon of the 1960’s. He and a handful of Hollywood friends were only feet away behind Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. when he gave his famous “I Have a Dream” sermon at the Lincoln Memorial.
Heston, himself, would have three memorable Oscar moments. When he won the Best Actor of Ben-Hur, he made a point to thank Christopher Fry. Christopher Fry had rewritten all the dialogue, but had been denied screen credit by the Writers Guild of America since he didn’t write the original script. The Writers Guild of America attacked Heston in the newspapers, and Heston coolly answered them. On a less controversial note, in 1977, he won the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
For my third and final and comical Heston Oscar moment, we must turn to the 1973 Academy Awards. Heston was supposed to open the show by reciting the boring rules of the Academy in a Biblical parody, “In the book of Genesis, it is written that the first day all eligible Academy members are asked to vote for nominations for Best Picture of the Year. On the second day, the other nominations are made.” Unfortunately, Heston was no where to be found. In a last second decision, Clint Eastwood was drafted. Eastwood was visibly uncomfortable reading the cue cards with all their Biblical allusions. At one point, he growled, “Turn the cards, man, this isn’t my gig.” Much to his relief, a hurried Heston soon appeared on stage. Heston had suffered a flat tire on his way to the Oscars. Heston acted like nothing had happened and started from the beginning, but then, realizing the humor of the situation, muttered, “I’ve should have brought my rod.”
The Keith Church Blog 