 MGM, however, suspended production in early 1956.By the late 1950s, court decisions forcing film studios to divest themselves of theater chains and the competitive pressure of television had caused significant financial distress at MGM.In a gamble to save the studio, and inspired by the success of Paramount Pictures' 1956 Biblical epic "The Ten Commandments", studio head Joseph Vogel announced in 1957 that MGM would again move forward on a remake of "Ben-Hur".