Today is the first night of Passover, the Jewish holiday in which we celebrate the Exodus, when Moses led the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt. Millions of people will celebrate the holiday by gathering their families together for dinner, children will ask the four questions and some will turn to ABC on Saturday to watch Cecil B. DeMille's immortal classic, The Ten Commandments. The 1956 film has remained timeless, in spite of its hockey acting, completely over-the-top presentation and exhausting 220-minute run time. The term “Hollywood Spectacle” was probably created just to describe the film because there is no other way to describe The Ten Commandments
The selling point of DeMille's film is that it tells the full story of the life of Moses, from his birth, to when he saw the Burning Bush, to the Exodus out of Egypt to when he brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai. The film ends with him handing the role of leader of the Hebrews to Joshua outside the gates of Canaan.
DeMille was a master showman in every sense of the phrase, going above and beyond to make the story of Moses more interesting than a school lesson. Making characters like these interesting to an audience is tough, but DeMille and his team of writers were able to pull that off. So, it's obviously the actors' job to bring that script to life. More or less this works. Yul Brynner is stunning as Ramses, while Edward G. Robinson pulls off a surprisingly vicious performance as Dathan. John Derek plays the strong heartthrob role of Joshua very well. As good as Brynner is, it might be all for naught when you've got Charlton Heston looking as wooden and cheesy as possible. Heston does well in the early half of the film, but, like his character, completely changes in the second half and not for the better. We lose all sense that Moses is still an actual man – one who just happens to talk to God. He's still a man, though, but Heston turns the character into a walking statue. “Let my people go!” he yells at Brynner and they look like they are from two entirely different worlds. Plus, you have Anne Baxter throwing herself around everywhere in the worst possible way. She actually gets better as the film goes on, to a point that you can finally remind yourself that she is the same person who starred in All About Eve.
I can't imagine how different this film might have been if it was made even a year or two later into Heston's career. Later in the 1950s, he pulled off three stunning performances in row in Touch of Evil, The Big Country and Ben-Hur. Had Heston been able to relax as Moses after the Burning Bush, it could have been an Oscar-nominated role.
DeMille makes you know from the start that this could only be his film. After the overture and before the titles, he comes on screen himself to explain the point of The Ten Commandments and guides us through with narration. The film also features stunning special effects, a common aspect in all of his '50s films, starting with the collapse of the temple in Samson and Delilah. For most people, the single image of The Ten Commandments that sticks in their mind is the parting of the Red Sea. It's a stunning achievement in film-making and you can never get tired of seeing it.
The Ten Commandments has become one of those bullet-proof movies. It is a strange moment where the acting is outdated, but the story is timeless. It's the story of Moses that brings us back to it every year, not Heston's acting or DeMille's didactic narration. It has the feeling of a story of humanity, meant to resonate with everyone, not just Americans
