Saturday, January 16, 2021
Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments - 1923 Silent Film
- Commentary: Under Construction.
Although this is an old, silent movie, it's an unusually interesting presentation of The Ten Commandments. DeMille intertwines the Exodus story with a modern (1923 modern, that is) tale of two brothers, one of whom follows the "law", the other of whom doesn't. Although, as you might expect, life turns sour for the second brother, and, of course, everyone in the movie is affected by his rankled life and death, salvation reigns for those the tawdry brother has mired in his muck. From my perspective, this movie is more about Christian Salvation, rather than following divine law, which is what turns this movie into a surprise; muddled, yes, but still a surprise. It's very interesting, even though sometimes confusing, to watch and ponder. It's revelatory, as well, to realize that DeMille was not satisfied with this version of the Exodus story, thus, he reprised it in 1956 and left out any kind of modern take on divine law. Frankly, I would have liked to have seen a more well thought out version of this 1923 intertwined story. This movie, though, is quite provocative, nonetheless. Definitely worth more than one watch. As a homage to this extraordinary rendition of the Exodus story, I'm including many credits in the Actor/Role Table, below.
Update: 6/7/2022: As of this date my collection now includes four versions of the Exodus story: The Ten Commandments 1923, The Ten Commandments 1956, Moses 1995 and Exodus: Gods and Kings. Splitting the difference, care to wager on how long it will be until we see another Exodus epic? My money's on 31 years.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Theodore Roberts Moses Charles De Roche Rameses Estelle Taylor Miriam Julia Faye Pharoah's Wife Terrence/Pat Moore Son of Pharoah James Neill Aaron Lawson Butt Dathan Clarence Burton The Taskmaster Noble Johnson The Bronze Man Edythe Chapman Mrs. Martha McTavish Richard Dix John McTavish Rod La Rocque Dan McTavish Leatrice Joy Mary Leigh Nita Naldi Sally Lung Robert Edeson Inspector Redding Charles Ogle The Doctor Agnes Ayres The Outcast Wilson Benge Butler Louise Emmons Elderly Israelite Roscoe Karns Dan's Pal & Associate
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1923
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
Labels: §1, bible-movies1, drama2, film-art1, moses, silent
