The Ten Commandments (1956) |
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The Ten Commandments Cast |
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On-Screen Couples |
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Yul Brynner
(as Rameses)
with Anne Baxter
(as Nefretiri)
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Movie Highlights |
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Other InformationAwardsNational Film Registry National Film Preservation Board, USA [1999] (Won/Nominated: Won) Best Foreign Performer (Mejor intérprete de cine extranjero) Fotogramas de Plata [1960] (Won/Nominated: Won) Best Motion Picture Actor - Drama Golden Globes [1957] (Won/Nominated: Nominated) Best Sound, Recording Academy Awards [1957] (Won/Nominated: Nominated) Best Picture Academy Awards [1957] (Won/Nominated: Nominated) Best Film Editing Academy Awards [1957] (Won/Nominated: Nominated) Best Costume Design, Color Academy Awards [1957] (Won/Nominated: Nominated) Best Cinematography, Color Academy Awards [1957] (Won/Nominated: Nominated) Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color Academy Awards [1957] (Won/Nominated: Nominated) Best Effects, Special Effects Academy Awards [1957] (Won/Nominated: Won) Best Actor National Board of Review, USA [1956] (Won/Nominated: Won) Plot SummaryDuring the rule of Rameses I in Ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh is informed that the Hebrew slaves believe that a recently seen star portends the arrival of a deliverer who will free them. Wanting to subvert the deliverer, yet unwilling to kill all the H... TaglineParamount Pictures is proud to announce the return of the greatest motion picture of all time! (1966 re-release) It would take more than a man to lead the slaves from bondage. It would take a God. The Greatest Event in Motion Picture History Related MoviesThe Prince of Egypt [Version of] (Year of movie: 1998) The Life of Moses [Version of] (Year of movie: 1909) Samson and Delilah [Follows] (Year of movie: 1949) The King of Kings [Follows] (Year of movie: 1927) The Ten Commandments [Version of] (Year of movie: 1923) The Ten Commandments [Remake of] (Year of movie: 1923) |
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Full Cast and Crew |
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Actor CreditsNon Actor Credits |
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The Ten Commandments (1956) was nominated for the following awards:
Golden Globes |
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Trivia |
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Trivia and QuotesTrivia At the end of the movie, after Charlton Heston as Moses has turned over leadership of the Israelites to Joshua, he watches as the Israelites march into Caanan. At this point, Moses was supposed to have been enveloped in the fog coming down from the mountain, but the effect was never completed. As a result, Moses is shown to be standing there watching the Israelites go, and this is closer to what is related in the actual Bible then what Cecil B. DeMille originally intended. When Yul Brynner found out he would be playing Pharaoh Rameses II opposite Charlton Heston`s Moses and that he would be shirtless for most of the film, he began a rigorous weight lifting program because he did not want to be physically overshadowed by Charlton Heston (which explains his buffer than normal physique during The King and I (1956), another film he was set to work on at the time. Martha Scott, who plays Moses` biological mother Yochabel, also played Charlton Heston`s mother in Ben-Hur (1959) the same year. She was only ten years older than her on-screen son. The cloud special effects used during the parting of the Red Sea scenes, would later be repeatedly used in various movies by director Steven Spielberg. The red smoke on top of Mt. Sinai, which symbolized God`s presence on the mountain, was a matted special effect superimposed over a shot of the actual Mt. Sinai filmed on location. Several shots that appear throughout the movie are shots that were matted together from scenes shots on location in Egypt and scenes shots at the Paramount Studios in Hollywood. Most notable scenes featuring this multi-location matte-shooting are the scenes which Moses and Sethi watch the Obelisk being raised; the slaves in the background were shot in Egypt, the foreground with Moses and Sethi shot in Hollywood, and the background pylons being matte paintings. During the early part of principal photography, Yul Brynner was still on Broadway starring in "The King and I." All of his shots on the actual Egyptian locations were done in one day after which he had to fly back to New York. [June 2008] Ranked #10 on the American Film Institute`s list of the 10 greatest films in the genre "Epic". This is perhaps the only Paramount film in which the VistaVision "Motion Picture High Fidelity" logo, together with its accompanying musical fanfare, does not appear at all. According to Charlton Heston`s autobiography, the filming of the orgy scenes was so grueling, it prompted one female extra to exclaim, "Who do I have to f**k to get OUT of this movie?" Originally, when Elmer Bernstein was orchestrating the music to accompany the Great Exodus of the slaves out of Egypt, the music was mournful. Upon hearing it, Cecil B. DeMille ordered him to redo it, substituting joyful, upbeat music to announce the slaves joy of becoming a freed people. Because of the numerous scenes that required multiple cameras to be running simultaneously, Paramount had the Mitchell Camera Corporation build additional VistaVision cameras for this production. Decades later, these cameras were highly sought after by special effects companies due to their ability to produce large area negatives on standard 35mm filmstock. Producer/Director Cecil B. DeMille turned 75 years of age during the production of this film making him the oldest working Hollywood director. He would suffer a heart attack on the set, returning to the set only days later. After this was completed, he would plan another epic production. He would die in 1959 before he could direct another, making this his last film. The script contained 308 pages with 70 speaking parts. Pre-production work on this film included over 1,200 storyboard sketches. Audrey Hepburn was originally slated for the role of "Nefretiri". Cecil B. DeMille reluctantly decided to pass on her after it was judged that she was too "slender" (i.e., flat-chested). Anne Baxter, who was eventually cast in the role, had originally been a contender for the role of "Sephora." In the scene in which Ramses carries the dead body of his son (Eugene Mazzola), into the arms of the statue of Sokar, the boy changes from Eugene Mazzola`s actual body to a wax dummy. The statue was unable to support Mazzola`s actual body, and it was difficult for Mazzola to stay "dead" while he was placed on the statue. According to Hollywood lore, while filming the orgy sequence which precedes Moses` descent from Mount Horab with the Commandments, Cecil B. DeMille was perched on top of a ladder delivering his customarily long-winded directions through a megaphone to the hundreds of extras involved in the scene. After droning on to the extras for several minutes, DeMille was distracted by one young woman who was persistently talking to the woman standing next to her. DeMille stopped his speech and addressed everyone`s attention to the young woman. "Here," DeMille said, "We have a young woman whose conversation with her friend is apparently more important than listening to her instructions from her director while we are all engaged in making motion picture history. Perhaps the young woman would care to enlighten us all, and tell us what the devil is so important that it cannot wait until after we make this shot." After a moment of awkward silence, the young woman spoke up and boldly confessed, "I was just saying to my friend, `I wonder when that bald-headed old fart is gonna call `Lunch!`" DeMille stared at the woman for a moment, paused, then lifted his megaphone and shouted, "Lunch!" Despite being credited as costume designers, John L. Jensen and Arnold Friberg did not work primarily in designing any costumes. Jensen was the lead sketch artist, and only worked in sketching out designs for certain costumes. Friberg was primarily hired to design the film`s titles, which were hand lettered and photographed over a colored leather background. Friberg also contributed sketches regarding the costuming. The costume for Moses as a shepherd was patterned after one Friberg had already painted, a portrayal of an ancient prophet for "The Childrens Friend", a magazine published by the Primary Association, the children`s organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which Friberg is a member. Many of the sets, costumes and props for this picture were originally made for The Egyptian (1954) and were bought from the studios of Darryl F. Zanuck for reuse. The sword of the Hittite Princes, which plays a large part in "The Egyptian" toward the end, is seen again in this film in the hands of Clint Walker, who plays an Egyptian royal guard. This gives a nice feeling of historical continuity, as the events in "The Egyptian" take place during the reign of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) about 60 years before the events in "The Ten Commandments". Feature film debut of Robert Vaughn. The last line of the film "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof" was taken from Leviticus 25:10 of The Bible. It is also printed on the Liberty Bell. Although uncredited, former Mr. America Mike Sill was one of the persons helping to carry the Idol of the Golden Calf. Produced at a then-staggering cost of $13 million, the film went on to become Paramount`s biggest-grossing movie to that time. For years it ranked second only to Gone with the Wind (1939) as the most successful film in Hollywood history. When asking the Egyptian authorities for permission to film there, Cecil B. DeMille was pleasantly surprised to find out they were fans of his film The Crusades (1935). "You treated us [Arabs in the film] so well, you may do anything here you want," they told him. The special effects work was so extensive that it was not completed by the final edit. The released version contains fringing during some blue screen shots which the crew did not have time to correct. There is a longstanding rumor that future Cuban dictator Fidel Castro is an extra in this film, possibly playing a soldier. In her book "My Lucky Stars", Shirley MacLaine recalls asking Castro if he indeed was in the film, and receiving an ambiguous answer. Father and son both played Moses in this movie, as Fraser Clarke Heston played Moses as an infant. Urban legend has it that Anne Baxter`s character`s name was changed from Nefertiti to Nefertiri because Cecil B. DeMille was afraid people would make "boob" jokes. In reality, DeMille was sticking to history: Rameses II`s queen was called Nefretiri. Nefertiti lived about 60 years earlier than the events in The Ten Commandments. Both names mean "Beautiful". 14,000 extras and 15,000 animals were used in the production of the movie. The illusion of the Red Sea parting was achieved by large "dump tanks" that were flooded, then the film was shown in reverse. The two frothing walls of water were created by water dumped constantly into "catch basin areas" then the foaming, churning water was visually manipulated and used sideways for the walls of water. A gelatin substance was added to the water in the tanks to give it more of a sea water consistency. Although the dump tanks have long since been removed, the catch basin section of this tank still exists today on the Paramount lot, directly in front of the exterior sky backdrop, in the central portion of the studio. It can still be flooded for water scenes, but when not being used in a production, it is an extension of a parking lot. Animation was employed to create the hail as it was falling from the sky in the background, but popcorn that had been spray-painted white fell as "hail" onto the pavilion of Rameses` palace. It was light so it could not hurt the actors, it bounced like real hail; and it could be swept up and used again for additional takes of the scene. The fire that burned from the hail was created by animation. Another plague was filmed but not used. According to the commentary on the 50th Anniversary DVD, this was a plague of frogs leaving the muddied Nile, coming up onto land, frightening and chasing Nefretiri and her attendants through the chambers of the place. Cecil B. DeMille felt that the scene was not frightening enough - and could even be considered comical - and thus he omitted it from the final film. Celluloid art created the special effects of the Red Sea parting by pouring 300,000 gallons of water into a tank and then playing the film backward. Decades later, some of the props used in this film - in particular cups, glasses and tableware - turned up in an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) called "Tapestry". In adjusted-for-inflation gross, this movie is the top grossing movie in the US that has not benefited from multiple releases. It is generally in the top 3 to top 10 of all-time top grossing films (depending on who made the list and how they accounted for re-releases), adjusted for inflation. This became Cecil B. DeMille`s first, and only, film to be shot in widescreen. When Woody Strode reported to work, he presented Cecil B. DeMille with an antique bible Strode`s wife had found. DeMille was so impressed with the gift he not only put Strode in two parts in the film but told Strode that if he ever wanted a part in a future DeMille film, all he had to do was ask. Unfortunately, this project was Demille`s final film due to declining health. Charlton Heston was chosen for the role of Moses by Cecil B. DeMille because he bore a resemblance to Michelangelo`s statue of Moses in Rome. Cecil B. DeMille`s first choice for Moses was William Boyd, best known as Hopalong Cassidy. Boyd turned down the role, fearing the Hopalong Cassidy identification would hurt the movie. Considerable controversy exists over who supplied the voice of God for the film, for which no on-screen credit is given. The voice used was heavily modified and mixed with other sound effects, making identification extremely difficult. Various people have either claimed or been rumored to have supplied the voice: Cecil B. DeMille himself (he narrated the film), Charlton Heston and Delos Jewkes, to name a few. DeMille`s publicist and biographer Donald Hayne maintains that Heston provided the voice of God at the burning bush, but he himself provided the voice of God giving the commandments. In the 2004 DVD release, Heston in an interview admitted that he was the voice of God. Cecil B. DeMille previously filmed this story as The Ten Commandments (1923). One day in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, a casting director for this film approached Jack Peters and his son Jon Peters to ask if Jon wanted to appear in the film, as multitudes of people with dark hair and complexions were needed to cross the Red Sea. Jon was chosen to ride a donkey and lead a goat by rope. He was so excited that he refused to wash off his makeup when he went home at night. This was legendary film composer Elmer Bernstein`s first major project. Bernstein had just had some success with his jazz score for The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). However, he was not Cecil B. DeMille`s first choice to score the film. DeMille had a long relationship with Paramount contract composer Victor Young, who had been working with DeMille since North West Mounted Police (1940). Unfortunately, Young had become very ill and could not accept the assignment. Cecil B. DeMille gave his old actor friend, H.B. Warner, his last speaking role as the old man wanting to die in the desert in the Exodus sequence. Warner rose to fame after DeMille cast him as the lead as Jesus in his silent film, The King of Kings (1927). The highest-earning live action film of the 1950s. Apart from Charlton Heston, almost no one in the leading and major supporting parts were actually Paramount contract players. By 1954, when the film began shooting, most of the studios had dropped their contract players due to sweeping changes in the industry and competition with television. Cedric Hardwicke and Douglass Dumbrille both had their heads shaved for the film. Just under 5% of the film was actually shot in Egypt. The Paramount mountain at the beginning is replaced with Mount Sinai. The film is usually very slightly edited for TV transmission, although because of commercials, most showings clock in at close to four-and-a-half hours. This has led to some humorists commenting that it had been "trimmed to seven commandments". Nina Foch, who plays Bithiah, is actually a year younger than Charlton Heston, her onscreen son. Last film directed by Oscar winner Cecil B. DeMille. As a publicity stunt, Cecil B. DeMille had public displays and monuments of the Ten Commandments erected around the country. Known as decalogues, most of them were placed in or near government buildings. Up until the release of The Passion of the Christ (2004) in 2004, this was the highest grossing religious epic in history, earning over $65.5 million in 1956. (This translates into $446 million in contemporary figures.) Every year American TV network ABC airs this film at Easter. The one year they chose not to - 1999 - they received more irate phone calls than for anything else the network did in the previous season. The orgy sequence took 3 weeks to film. Cecil B. DeMille suffered a heart attack during the production after climbing 130 feet to check a faulty camera perched on one of the giant gates used in the exodus sequence. He took a couple of days off and then, against his doctor`s orders, returned to work to complete the film. To create the effect of the sandstorm in the narrated desert sequence, Cecil B. DeMille used the engine blast from tied-down Egyptian air force planes. | ||
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