The Ten Commandments (1956)

The Ten Commandments - 1956

Continuing on with our Egyptian theme comes 1956's epic film "The Ten Commandments", which follows the life of Moses from his birth to his death.

The film's cast includes Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Paget, John Derek, Cedric Hardwicke, Nina Foch, Judith Anderson, Vincent Price, Martha Scott, H.B. Warner, John Carradine, and Paul Harvey.

To save her son from the death warrant issued by the Pharaoh of Egypt, Yochabel hides her son in a basket and sets it afloat on the river.

It's found by Bithiah, the daughter of Pharaoh Rameses I.  She's a widow and delighted to have a son to love.

Bithiah's servant Memnet recognizes some cloth as that which belongs to the slaves.  Bithiah swears her to an oath that she will be silent or pay with her life.  Bithiah names the baby Moses.

Years later, Bithiah's brother, Sethi, is now the Pharaoah.  His son Rameses is in competition with Moses for the throne of Egypt.  Moses is returning from a successful military campaign and the cheers of the crowds can be heard within the palace walls.

Cheering from within the palace is the beautiful Nefretiri, who is deeply in love with Moses.

Moses presents himself and the spoils of war before Sethi.  He also presents the King of Ethiopia and his sister as allies.  Sethi is so impressed that he charges Moses with building a city in his honor.  It is Rameses' task to find the "Deliverer" that the slaves keep talking about.

Moses has a private moment with Nefretiri before greeting his mother.  Bithiah is very concerned, however, when she finds out that Moses will be working very closely with the Hebrew slaves.

Rameses is hard at work trying to discover the identity of the "Deliverer".  His spies are everywhere.

Moses comes face to face with his birth mother (though he doesn't know it) when he saves her life.  He also becomes something of a hero to the Hebrews when he gives them a large amount of grain and one day in seven to rest.

Complaints against Moses are brought to Sethi by the priests.  He finally says that he will travel to where Moses is building the city so he can see what is going on himself.

Rameses taunts Nefretiri by telling her that she will not marry Moses, but she will marry him.  She refuses to believe it, repulsed by the idea.

Sethi is extremely impressed by the city Moses is building, especially by a statue made in his own likeness.

Sethi tells Rameses that Moses will be the next Pharaoh of Egypt, inciting more hate and anger within Rameses.

Memnet reveals the truth of Moses's birth to Nefretiri.  Nefretiri kills her to prevent the story of getting out.

Moses comes to find out the story.  Nefretiri clings desperately to keep him with her.

He goes to Bithiah and confronts her with the news.  She confirms the story's truth.

Bithiah goes to Goshen to see Moses's birth mother.  Moses follows her there, and decides to live life as a Hebrew.

He works in the brick pits and sees what life is like as a slave.

Nefretiri finds him and has him come to the palace.  She tells him he can help free his people after he becomes Pharaoh.  He agrees and tells her that he will come to her on the day of Seti's jubilee.

Before he can, however, he kills an Egyptian who is horribly mistreating a fellow Hebrew.  Rameses is informed that Moses is the one who killed the Egyptian, and he is greatly delighted at this turn of events.  He has Moses arrested.

Rameses has Moses brought in as the "Deliverer" before Sethi and the court.  A day of great celebration turns to great sadness for the Pharaoh's family, except for Rameses.  Sethi is confronted with the true origins of Moses.

Sethi commands that it be against the law for anyone to speak Moses's name.  After she tries to intervene on Moses's behalf, Sethi tells his sister that he will never again look at her.  Rameses is declared the heir to the throne of Egypt.

The man who turned Moses in is rewarded with all the property that belonged to the man Moses killed.  He is a Hebrew, but his reverence for the Egyptians causes him to be hated by his fellow countrymen.

Moses is banished from Egypt and sent to wander the desert.  He is given a robe that was made by his Hebrew mother before she died.

After wandering for a long while in the desert, Moses comes to Midian where he meets Sephora.  Her father gives him the choice of all hid daughters for a wife, but Moses finds himself falling in love with Sephora.  They are married and eventually have a son.

Back in Egypt, Sethi is dying.  With his last breath, he breaks his own law and speaks the name of Moses.  Rameses and Nefretiri are now Pharoah and Queen of Egypt.

One day, Joshua, whose life was saved when Moses killed the Egyptian, comes to Midian after escaping from hard labor.  He tells how the Hebrew people need a deliverer now more than ever.

Moses sees a bush that burns but is not consumed.  When he gets nearer, God speaks to him and tells him that he will be the deliverer that his people seek.

When he comes down from the mountain, Sephora and Joshua know that Moses has seen and heard from God.

At God's command, Moses, Sephora, their son, and Joshua return to Egypt to set about the task of freeing the Hebrew people.

They go to the court of Rameses and tell him to let the Hebrews go.  The moment that he speaks, Nefretiri knows that Moses is before her.  She is once again filled with the love she felt for him.

When Rameses refuses to let the Hebrews go, Moses has Aaron throw down his staff.  It turns into a cobra.  Rameses is unperturbed by this and hardens his heart further.

Nefretiri summons Moses to her chambers.  When he resists her advances, she turns against him.

Rameses' further refusal to release the Hebrews results in the onslaught of plagues, which include the water turning to blood and hail that burns.

Nefretiri goes to Rameses and tells him to remain strong for their son.  After their talk, Rameses decrees that every firstborn Hebrew to die.

Still wanting to protect Moses, Nefretiri visits his house and warns Sephora of Rameses' edict.

The last plague comes before Rameses can enact his order.  The death angel sweeps through the land and every first born child, regardless of nationality, without blood on the doorposts dies.

Moses and his family have the first Passover that night.  He gets a welcome surprise when Bithiah arrives.  In fear of Moses's God, they set her free.  She and her bearers are welcomed inside.

Rameses' son dies that night as the result of the plague.

He calls Moses and tells him to leave Egypt with the Hebrews and take whatever they can carry.

There is great rejoicing from the Hebrews as they leave Egypt with its spoils.  Bithiah and her bearers accompany Moses, and she stops her litter to help a weak, old man.

Angry at the death of their son, Nefretiri goes to Rameses and urges him to be strong in dealing with Moses and the Hebrews.

He gets his army together and with a host of chariots follows quickly on the heals of the Hebrews.

The Hebrews come to the Red Sea.  Rameses and his army are fast approaching.  God sends a pillar of fire to block the Egyptians and opens the waters so the Hebrews can pass through on dry ground.

The waters come back together again when the Hebrews have passed over on the other side.  The Egyptian army is swept away, leaving Rameses as the sole survivor of the failed campaign.

He returns to Nefretiri and proclaims, "His God is God."

The Hebrews come to Mount Sinai, where God gives them the Ten Commandments.

After forty years of wandering through the desert, God allows the Hebrews to enter the Promised Land.  Moses watches as his people march toward their new homeland.

Cast rundown:

   Charlton Heston................................Moses

   Yul Brynner.......................................Rameses

   Anne Baxter......................................Nefretiri

   Edward G. Robinson...........................Dathan

   Yvonne De Carlo................................Sephora

   Debra Paget......................................Lilia

   John Derek.......................................Joshua

   Cedric Hardwicke...............................Sethi

   Nina Foch.........................................Bithiah

   Judith Anderson.................................Memnet

   Vincent Price.....................................Baka

   Martha Scott.....................................Yochabel

   H.B. Warner......................................Amminadab

   John Carradine..................................Aaron

   Paul Harvey......................................Royal Physician

And that's it for The Ten Commandments.  The film is truly epic in its scope.  It featured a cast of 14,000 extras and required 15,000 animals for use in various scenes.  Although the film is set in Egypt and the surrounding Sinai area, most of movie was filmed at Paramount Studies in California.  Anne Baxter, who played Nefretiri, felt she was miscast.  However, that did not stop her from making a tradition of watching this film every Easter.

The director of the film was Cecil B. DeMille.  He makes a cameo at the beginning of the movie, introducing the film to us and setting up the story.  He also provides the narration during the film.

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