After our studies of Moses and Ancient Egypt, we watched a favorite DVD, The Ten Commandments (1956) directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
Despite having seen this movie many other times, now it was a wow experience.
Much of the grandeur of Ancient Egypt was magnificently represented in this movie.
Since we had more deeply studied the first 5 books of the Bible, we saw that DeMille did his research for the majority of the movie, which is really amazing for a Hollywood production.
Who was Cecil B, DeMille?
Famed for his influence on Hollywood moviemaking in the Golden Age, Cecil B. DeMille was half-Jewish….and he had a message.
Among his many famous films, he created two different versions of The Ten Commandments, one in 1923 and the other in 1956, both of which made records, each with unique prologues with important messages.
1923 version Ten Commandments
Released to the public five years after the “war to end all wars” the 1923 version opens with the following prologue: Our modern world defined God as a ‘religious complex’ and laughed at the Ten Commandments as OLD FASHIONED. Then, through the laughter, came the shattering thunder of the World War. And now a blood-drenched, bitter world—no longer laughing—cries for a way out. There is but one way out. It existed before it was engraven upon Tablets of Stone. It will exist when stone has crumbled. The Ten Commandments are not rules to obey as a personal favor to God. They are the fundamental principles without which mankind cannot live together. They are not laws—they are the LAW. AFI Catalogue
1923 Plotline
Interestingly, the plotline of this version comes in two parts. The first part is the Biblical story of the Exodus, whereas the second is a modern setting built around 4 characters who each take a different path regarding the degree to which they obey the commandments.
1923 Costume Design
This version employed two lead costume designers. One was sent to Paris to study fashion for the modern cast.
Meanwhile an expert on ancient culture was sent to the Middle East and beyond to research fashion, architecture, as well as possible shooting locations.
One of the incredible costume pieces was a 300-year-old Indian robe purchased in the Orient for $7000.
1923 Shooting Locations
Finding significant sand dunes in the California desert, the production team decided to shoot the Bible portion of the story locally. The modern storyline was shot in Hollywood and San Francisco.
1923 Special Effects
The special effects of the parting of the Red Sea astounded the critics. Shot in Seal Beach, California, jello was the secret ingredient to the impressive visual effect.
1923 Budget v Revenue
With a budget of $1.5 million, the movie scored $4.2 million dollars at the box office, the highest grossing film of all time, only to be beaten by a future Cecil B DeMille film.
1956 version Ten Commandments
Released to the public eleven years after WWII, the 1956 version opens with a video prologue of director Cecil B. Demille who, after explaining the extensive research done for the movie, states: The theme of this picture is whether men ought to be ruled by God’s law or…the whims of a dictator. This same battle continues throughout the world today. AFI Catalog
Repeated by pharaoh throughout the movie: So let it be written, so let it be done.
Stubborn pharaoh would learn the name of the ultimate author.
1956 Plotline
The plotline for this version of The Ten Commandments is completely about the life story of Moses, the Exodus.
The most obvious inaccuracy in the movie is that the pharaoh survives the Red Sea. In the Biblical account, the entire Egyptian army, including pharaoh, died.
Otherwise the production team did an incredible amount of research for this movie.
1956 Research
The research for the production included primarily the Bible.
To gain a sense for more of Moses’ life that’s not mentioned in the Bible, they drew from historical works such of Philo, Josephus, and the Hebrew Midrash.
Also sourced for the screenplay were three contemporary novels.
DeMille’s onscreen credit reads: “Those who see this motion picture—Produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille—will make a pilgrimage over the very ground that Moses trod more than 3,000 years ago.” The opening credits contain a written acknowledgment for the “valuable cooperation” of Dr. William C. Hayes, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Dr. Labib Habachi, Department of Antiquities, Luxor, Egypt; Dr. Keith C. Seele, Dr. Ralph Marcus and Dr. George R. Hughes, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago; and Rabbi Rudolph Lupo, Jewish Community Library, Los Angeles. Studio records indicate that the scholars acknowledged were frequently consulted throughout pre-production and production on a wide variety of historical topics. Frequent voice-over narration heard throughout the film, spoken by DeMille and explaining the action, is taken primarily from the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament. Other books from the Old Testament are also quoted in the narration. AFI CATALOGUE
Henry Noerdlinger, DeMille’s chief researcher on many of his films, published a book entitled Moses and Egypt (Los Angeles, 1956) detailing the enormous amount of research undertaken to achieve historical accuracy in The Ten Commandments. According to Noerdlinger’s book, “950 books, 984 periodicals, 1,286 clippings and 2,964 photographs were studied,” and the “facilities of 30 libraries and museums in North America, Europe and Africa” were employed in the film’s preparation. An Oct 1956 HCN article noted that Noerdlinger began his research for the film in Jun 1952, and an Aug 1956 NYT report asserted that the historical preparation cost “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” As Noerdlinger explained in his book, the Bible does not give a specific date for the exodus, nor state which pharaoh was confronted by Moses, and so the filmmakers decided upon the 13th century B.C., which was generally favored by scholars as the time of the exodus. They then chose Rameses II, who reigned from 1301—1234 B.C., as Moses’s nemesis. [Scholars alternately spell Rameses as Ramses, and Sethi as Seti.] DeMille’s depiction of Moses’s early life, about which little is told in the Bible, relied upon other sources, as noted in an article written by screenplay author Aeneas MacKenzie for the 31 Jul 1955 issue of NYT. MacKenzie stated that “certain ancient Hebrew, Moslem and other non-Biblical texts,” as well as sources found in Noerdlinger’s extensive research, were used to supply the “missing” details of Moses’s life. Noerdlinger’s book was used to help publicize the film, especially in Europe, and was given to film, religious and historical reviewers. –AFI CATALOGUE
1956 Shooting Location
The shooting location for this movie centered around Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula.
1956 Special Effects
Considered the most difficult special effect for its time, shooting the Red Sea sequence cost more than a million dollars and took 18 months to shoot.
1956 Casting
Because of his resemblance to Michaelangelo’s statue of Moses, Charleton Heston was cast by DeMille for the part.
After the shooting of the film was completed, Heston traveled to Rome for publicity photographs with the famed statue, which was used in the trailer of the film.
Here is a picture of Cecile B. DeMille holding a pictre of Heston with the Moses statute.
Heston later portrayed Michaelangelo in the Agony and the Ecstasy, 1965.
Baby Moses was portrayed by Charleton Heston’s infant son! Check out this photo shoot at Life Magazine of Heston (behind the scenes) with his son as baby Moses.
Over 14,000 (perhaps up to 25,000) Egyptians were cast as extras for the Exodus scenes.
1956 Costuming
The attire of pharaoh appears to be accurate from the red and white crown of Egypt in peacetime, the royal headdress, and the blue war helmet.
Charleston Heston’s robe for his character of Moses sold at auction for $447,000 in 2023. Although the red wool with striping is historically accurate for the tribe of Levi, from which Moses came, that was an afterthought in production, despite their level of research.
Here is one of the Edith Head sketches for Nefertiti.
1956 Budget v Revenue
With a budget of $13 million, the movie grossed $122.7 million on its initial release.
1956 Awards
Nominated for 7 Academy Awards, it won for Best Special Effects. Other numerous accolades were bestowed upon the film.
Legacy
While filming the Exodus scene in Egypt in 1954, DeMille suffered a heart attack. Although he managed to complete direction of the project, it was his last film. He died in 1959.
Cecil B. DeMille was memorialized as “pioneer of movies,” “the greatest creator and showman of our industry,” and “the founder of Hollywood.”
At the film’s premiere (1956 The Ten Commandments), DeMille said he hoped that those who saw it “would not only be filled with the sight of a big spectacle but also filled with the spirit of truth.” Decades later, the DeMille Foundation still receives letters praising the film’s message of faith and freedom. –Cecil B. DeMille Foundation
