5TH WHEEL KINGPIN

Goofs for Ben-Hur (1959)

Anachronisms: In the chariot scene, one of the trumpeters is wearing a watch. (One observer claims this is simply an unfortunately positioned shadow.)


Continuity: Ben-Hur places his crown of laurels on a table by the entrance when he visits the fallen Messala, but when he leaves, the crown is gone.


Anachronisms: The calf in the stable is a Holstein, a breed that did not exist at the time, and was unknown in the area until 1922.


Continuity: Nine chariots start the chariot race. After the first crash, there appear still to be nine chariots in the race. After the third crash, six are shown, but as Ben Hur passes to catch up, clearly there is a total of seven in the race. After five have crashed, five are left. Messala is the sixth chariot to crash, but Ben Hur and three others finish the race. Thus, nine chariots start the race, six crash, and four finish.


Continuity: During the chariot race, when we see the third fish lowered, the following shot shows briefly the fishes and the third is still up.


Revealing mistakes: Tyre tracks from the camera truck are visible in the sand of the circus during the chariot race.


Continuity: Messala damages Ben-Hur's chariot with his saw-toothed wheel-hubs, but when Ben-Hur drives up to Pontius Pilate to receive his prize, his chariot is undamaged.


Continuity: During the chariot race, shadow lengths/directions clearly show that passage of time (filming) inconsistent with length of "actual" race.


Continuity: Ben-Hur presents ring to be returned to Rome. Pontius Pilate moves so that he is always facing the camera as the angle reverses.


Anachronisms: As they are preparing for the chariot race, a raised platform is shown which is made of galvanized steel.


Continuity: An establishing shot of Jerusalem in the opening sequence shows a hooded Ben-Hur, long before he is born. The scene appears again later in the film as Judah Ben-Hur returns to Jerusalem from Rome.


Revealing mistakes: When Esther and Tirzah and Miriam seek shelter, the storm is violent enough to cause earth to fall in front of the cave, and the sound of the wind is deafening. Yet trees visible in the background (from the mouth of the cave) do not so much as sway in the breeze.


Anachronisms: During the scene in which Judah and Messala are talking in the courtyard of Judah's home, road noise from motorcycles can be heard in the background.


Crew or equipment visible: The shadow of the camera can be seen on Christ's back as Ben Hur is leaving Nazareth to go to the galleys (widescreen version).


Continuity: When Ben-Hur's and Messala's chariots lock wheels, Messala's wheel shatters. In the shot of the overturning chariot, the wheel is intact.


Audio/visual unsynchronized: When the audience first sees Ben-Hur and Messalla together and they both throw a spear at the wall, the sound of Ben-Hur's voice does not match up with his lips.


Revealing mistakes: Due to the relative widths of the horses pulling the chariots and the chariots themselves, there is actually no way that the cutting hubs on Messala's wheels could actually make contact with the wheels of any other chariots.


Anachronisms: Sheik Ilderim pins a Star of David onto Ben Hur's belt before the race, obviously to goad the Romans. The Star of David didn't become a symbol of Judaism until the Middle Ages, in Eastern Europe.


Anachronisms: Romans did not take slaves for their galleys. Galley slaves did not exist until the 16th century.


Revealing mistakes: Just before the Roman galley is rammed, the condemned men behind Ben-Hur are clearly dummies.


Anachronisms: Modern books with covers can be seen, at a time when only scrolls were used.


Factual errors: Most of the Roman soldiers seen are not displaying the Roman Army's "Winged Lightning" symbol on their shields.


Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): A character refers to the Roman Emperor as "The Divine Tiberius." The Emperor was never deified.


Anachronisms: The mezuzah shown at the entrance to Ben-Hur's home is mounted diagonally. That practice was not adopted until the middle ages, by Ashkenazi Jews, as a compromise between the rules offered by 2 medieval Rabbis.


Continuity: When Messala breaks a tile on Ben Hur's terrace, we can see a broken tile at his feet whereas on the shot before there was no tile.


Revealing mistakes: During the scene in which Judah and the Consul are rescued from the water, the waves breaking in the background reveal the end of the studio.


Revealing mistakes: A close-up of the saw-toothed wheel hubs, just before the race shows the modern welding.


Continuity: When Jesus is carrying the cross it changes from only the center beam to center beam and cross piece together, then back to center beam only.


Factual errors: At the beginning of the movie when Messallah is given the commission in Judea, the man whom he replaces mentions that there is a Man (Jesus) go

The AJS 7R was a 350 cc racing motorcycle built from 1948 to 1963 by Associated Motor Cycles, also known as the ‘Boy Racer’, first won victories for the factory, and then went on to win races for privateers when made generally available from 1954

The AJS 7R
A new design by Phil Walker, the chain-driven overhead camshaft 7R had the history of the pre-war AJS ‘cammy’ singles behind it. Initially, the 7R was not as powerful as its competitors, producing 32 bhp (24 kW) at 7500 rpm. The duplex frame and Teledraulic front forks remained relatively unchanged during production, while the engine had a number of changes. The included valve angle was progressively narrowed, and the crankshaft strengthened. In 1956 the engine dimensions changed from the original long-stroke 74 x 90 mm to the ‘squarer’ 75.5 x 78 mm. The AMC gearbox replaced the older Burman in 1958.[1]

In 1951 AJS development engineer Ike Hatch developed a 75.5 mm bore x 78 mm stroke, three valve head version of the 7R making 36 bhp (27 kW). It was called the AJS 7R3, and was Ike's response to the Italian multi-cylinder racers. They did well enough in their first year, not as well the second. For 1954 Jack Williams, the works team manager, developed the bike further, lowering the engine in the frame, and making some tuning changes that gave 40 bhp (30 kW) @ 7800 rpm. It immediately won the first two rounds of the World Championship and took first at the Isle of Man TT. These were factory specials, but one has survived, and a second has been reconstructed from spares.[

Racing
AJS 7Rs won the 1961, 62 and 63 Junior Manx TT races and came second in 1966. The 1957 AJS 7R 350 cc, with 75.5 mm bore and 78 mm stroke, gave 38.5 bhp (28.7 kW) at 7600-7800 rpm, and weighed 285 lb (129 kg). The top speed was 180-190 km/h (115-120 mph).[3]

AMC withdrew from the world of works, and one-off, road racing at the end of the 1954, with the death of Ike Hatch, and in the face of fierce competition from the other European bikes.

After this AJS made a production version of the standard two valve AJS 7R, for privateers and a 500 cc version, badged as a Matchless G50 was also sold. By the end of production in 1963 the two valve OHC AJS 7R engine made over 40 bhp (30 kW
RON.