The Ten Commandments (1923)

Synopsis: Cecil B. DeMille's original silent version of the classic biblical tale is a two-part saga that moves from Old Testament times to the immorality of the Roaring Twenties. The tale of Moses is told... Cecil B. DeMille's original silent version of the classic biblical tale is a two-part saga that moves from Old Testament times to the immorality of the Roaring Twenties. The tale of Moses is told as a prologue: Divinely inspired, Moses (Theodore Roberts) frees the Jewish slaves of Egypt from the bondage of the whip-wielding pharaoh Rameses (Charles De Roche). In true DeMille style, the director lavishly re-creates the splendor and decadent wealth of Ancient Egypt with a stylish 1920s Art Deco flair. A cast of thousands flees the great city and passes through the parted Red Sea in a stunning, technologically advanced sequence. The film also features hand-painted frames of fire and brimstone that engulf the screen and fade to black when DeMille deftly switches gears and tells a modern moral parable set in the 1920s household of a pious widow (Edythe Chapman) who reads from the Bible to her grown sons, expounding on the moral virtue of the Ten Commandments. This early classic is an intriguing combination of DeMille's passion for biblical spectacle and his love of entertaining morality tales. [More]

Starring: Theodore Roberts, Charles De Roche, Estelle Taylor

Starring: Theodore Roberts, Charles De Roche, Estelle Taylor

Director: Cecil B. DeMille

Director: Cecil B. DeMille

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