The Ten Commandments (1923)

Director:

Cecil B. DeMille

Writer:

Jeanie Macpherson (story)

Release Date:

23 November 1923 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

The first part tells the story of Moses leading the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land, his receipt...

Plot Keywords:

Moses | Cathedral | Dancer | Phonograph Record | Collapsed Wall

Cast

Theodore Roberts	...	Moses, the Lawgiver (prologue)
Charles de Rochefort	...	Rameses, the Magnificent (prologue) (as Charles De Roche)
Estelle Taylor	...	Miriam, the Sister of Moses (prologue)
Julia Faye	...	The Wife of Pharaoh (prologue)
Pat Moore	...	The Son of Pharaoh - prologue (as Terrence Moore)
James Neill	...	Aaron, Brother of Moses (prologue)
Lawson Butt	...	Dathan, The Discontented (prologue)
Clarence Burton	...	The Taskmaster (prologue)
Noble Johnson	...	The Bronze Man (prologue)
Edythe Chapman	...	Mrs. Martha McTavish
Richard Dix	...	John McTavish, her son
Rod La Rocque	...	Dan McTavish, her son
Leatrice Joy	...	Mary Leigh
Nita Naldi	...	Sally Lung, a Eurasian
Robert Edeson	...	Redding, an Inspector
Charles Ogle	...	The Doctor
Agnes Ayres	...	The Outcast
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Genevieve Belasco	...	(uncredited)
Wilson Benge	...	Butler (uncredited)
Virginia Bradford	...	Extra (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Israelite Slave (uncredited)
Dorothy Dale	...	Egyptian Girl (uncredited)
Cecilia de Mille	...	Extra (uncredited)
Louise Emmons	...	Elderly Israelite (uncredited)
Charles Farrell	...	Israelite Slave (uncredited)
Viscount Glerawly	...	Extra (uncredited)
Rex Ingram	...	Israelite Slave (uncredited)
Roscoe Karns	...	The Boy in the Rain (uncredited)
Jack Montgomery	...	Egyptian Cavalryman (uncredited)
Kathleen O'Shee	...	Israelite Maiden (uncredited)
Jack Padjan	...	Pharoah's Horseman (uncredited)
Eugene Pallette	...	Israelite Slave (uncredited)
John J. Richardson	...	Israelite Slave (uncredited)
Mabel Richardson	...	Israelite Woman (uncredited)
Robert St. Angelo	...	Extra (uncredited)

Directed by
Cecil B. DeMille

Writing credits
Jeanie Macpherson		(story)

Produced by
Cecil B. DeMille	....	producer

Original Music by
Hugo Riesenfeld
Milan Roder		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Bert Glennon
J. Peverell Marley		(as Peverell Marley)
Archie Stout
Fred Westerberg
Ray Rennahan		(color) (uncredited)

Film Editing by
Anne Bauchens

Art Direction by
Paul Iribe

Costume Design by
Howard Greer		(uncredited)
Clare West		(uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Cullen Tate	....	assistant director

Special Effects by
Roy Pomeroy	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Jack Montgomery	....	stunts
Jack Padjan	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Edward S. Curtis	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Donald Biddle Keyes	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Eugene Richee	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Other crew
Roy Pomeroy	....	technical director
Henry Hathaway	....	assistant: Mr. De Mille (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (as Famous Players-Lasky Corporation)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1923) (USA) (theatrical)
• Royal Film (1925) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• I.V.C. (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment Finland (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2006) (Canada) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Post Logic Studios  digital restoration

Also Known As:

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (2-strip Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

UK:U | Canada:G | Finland:K-16 (1925) (second part) | Finland:K-3 (2006) (DVD) | Finland:S (1925) (first part) | South Korea:All

Filming Locations:

Anaheim Landing, Anaheim, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Remade as The Ten Commandments (1956), again by Cecil B. DeMille.

Goofs:

Continuity: The McTavish carpenter shop is always portrayed to be on the ground floor, but at the very end, when John reads the bible to Mary, the view from the window behind them clearly shows an overhead view of the city.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sands of Oblivion (2007) (TV)

Thou shalt not give a stupid review.

Oops, broke that one. All joking aside, this film is incredible. Astonishing effects for the early 20s, where you couldn't twist any digital domain to your whims. The parting of the Red Sea is pretty convincing, even if was Jello. (Can you imagine wading through Jello? Ick.)

This film is told in two parts, as we get to see Moses receiving the Ten Commandments from God in what looks like a Fourth of July celebration. One with good fireworks. Most people know that story--Moses goes to deliver the Commandments, only to find everyone involved in a massive orgy. Here de Mille is in his element. He did so many massive orgies that he should have copyrighted them. We see people making out (not having sex--that would be wrong), men licking wine off women's feet (that is wrong, by gum), and a huge number of people trying to climb up what looks like a curtain. Why they're doing this only de Mille knows. All we need is Gloria Swanson being pawed by a tiger to make everything perfect. As some viewers may not know, de Mille can show whatever sin and debauchery he wants, because the sinners are going to get it in the end. They're gonna get it bad. From the giddy Israelites and their golden calf we're transported to the modern day (1923), where a woman reads the Bible. She can't be the sinner. A son stands nearby, looking very noble and content. Can't be him. Then, we see the other son. He looks bored and disbelieving. We have a sinner! Oh, and he's a bad one. He dances on Sunday, he steals women from their intendeds, he's involved in dozens of dirty dealings, and he's dating an Oriental leper. Beg pardon? I guess she's just thrown in for fun.

Of course, all's well that ends well, and everything turns out okay. This movie is silent, so the acting is a bit in-your-face, and the characters are extreme, but hey. It's necessary--literacy wasn't rampant back then, so filmmakers had to make everything painfully obvious. Some people weren't able to read the title cards, and they'd be lost without the silent films' distinctive pantomime.

Side benefit--the version I have on video features a nifty soundtrack by that powerhouse of the movie palace, the Wurlitzer organ.