The Ten Commandments

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS; 1956; Studio: Paramount; Director: Cecil B. DeMille; Cast: Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo

A beloved annual network television tradition during the Passover/Easter season, this stunning Biblical epic – an Academy Award winner in visual eff ects – chronicles the life of Moses and the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt.  Awash in enthralling, campy theatricality and with a moving musical score composed by Elmer Bernstein, TheTen Commandments may be the apex of DeMille’s career as director and showman, marrying historical and religious storytelling with thrilling romance and indelible characters that entertain over half a century later.

The parting of the Red Sea sequence alone took six months to complete, and in keeping with DeMille’s penchant for spectacle, the Exodus employed about 30,000 people and animals.  Heston does double duty as Moses and the Voice of God in the Burning Bush scene, but during the creation of the tablets with the Ten Commandments, the Voice of God is played by Mormon Tabernacle Choir member Jesse Delos Jewkes. “So let it be written, so let it be done.”

Appreciation for the expert commentary on “The Ten Commandments” goes to Dr. Arnold Blumberg.  THANKS DOC!!  Doc is an educator, publisher, author, comic and pop culture historian, and former museum curator.  He was the editor of The Overstreet Comic Book Price guide and teaches courses in everything from comics to zombies to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Find him on Twitter @DoctoroftheDead.