chariot race. In 2017, South Korea adapted into a musical. Film, radio, and television The development of the cinema following the novel's publication brought film adaptations in 1907, 1925, 1959, 2003, and 2016, as well as a North American TV miniseries in 2010. In 1907, Sidney Olcott and Frank Oakes Ross directed a short film for the Kalem Company that was based on the book, but it did not have the Wallace heirs' or the book publisher's permissions. The author's son Henry Wallace, stage producers Klaw and Erlanger, and the book's publisher Harper and Brothers sued the film's producers for violating U.S. copyright laws. The landmark case Kalem Co. v. Harper Bros. went to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1911, and set a legal precedent for motion picture rights in adaptations of literary and theatrical works. The court's ruling required the film company to pay $25,000 in damages plus expenses. Wallace's son continued to receive offers to sell the film rights to the book after his father's death. Henry refused all offers until 1915, when he changed his mind and entered into an agreement with Erlanger for $600,000 ($ in dollars). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer later obtained the film rights. The 1925 film adaptation of Ben-Hur under director Fred Niblo starred Ramon Novarro as Ben-Hur and Francis X. Bushman as Messala. Filming began in Italy and was completed in the United States. It cost MGM $3.9 million ($ in dollars), "making it the most expensive silent film in history." The film premiered on December 20, 1925, at the George M. Cohan Theater in New York City. It received positive reviews and became a top-grossing silent film of the era. In 1955, MGM began planning for a new version of the film with William Wyler as its director, who had worked as an assistant director of the chariot race in the 1925 film. The 1959 film adaptation of Ben-Hur starred Charlton Heston as Judah, with Stephen Boyd as Messala. It was shot on location in Rome. Filming wrapped up on January 7, 1959, at a cost of an estimated $12.5 to $15 million; it became the most expensive motion picture made up to that time. It was also among the most successful films ever made. The film premiered at Loews State Theater in New York City on November 18, 1959. It earned more than $40 million at the box office and an estimated $20