The Ten Commandments (1956)
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91% of critics liked it
(32 reviews) -
83% of users liked it
(58,228 ratings)
Based on the Holy Scriptures, with additional dialogue by several other hands, The Ten Commandments was the last film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The story relates the life of Moses, from the time he was discovered in the bullrushes as an infant by the pharoah's daughter, to his long, hard… More Based on the Holy Scriptures, with additional dialogue by several other hands, The Ten Commandments was the last film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The story relates the life of Moses, from the time he was discovered in the bullrushes as an infant by the pharoah's daughter, to his long, hard struggle to free the Hebrews from their slavery at the hands of the Egyptians. Moses (Charlton Heston) starts out "in solid" as Pharoah's adopted son (and a whiz at designing pyramids, dispensing such construction-site advice as "Blood makes poor mortar"), but when he discovers his true Hebrew heritage, he attempts to make life easier for his people. Banished by his jealous half-brother Rameses (Yul Brynner), Moses returns fully bearded to Pharoah's court, warning that he's had a message from God and that the Egyptians had better free the Hebrews post-haste if they know what's good for them. Only after the Deadly Plagues have decimated Egypt does Rameses give in. As the Hebrews reach the Red Sea, they discover that Rameses has gone back on his word and plans to have them all killed. But Moses rescues his people with a little Divine legerdemain by parting the Seas. Later, Moses is again confronted by God on Mt. Sinai, who delivers unto him the Ten Commandments. Meanwhile, the Hebrews, led by the duplicitous Dathan (Edward G. Robinson), are forgetting their religion and behaving like libertines. "Where's your Moses now?" brays Dathan in the manner of a Lower East Side gangster. He soon finds out. DeMille's The Ten Commandments may not be the most subtle and sophisticated entertainment ever concocted, but it tells its story with a clarity and vitality that few Biblical scholars have ever been able to duplicate. It is very likely the most eventful 219 minutes ever recorded to film--and who's to say that Nefertiri (Anne Baxter) didn't make speeches like, "Oh, Moses, Moses, you splendid, stubborn, adorable fool"? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Cecil B. DeMille
- Written By
- Aeneas MacKenzie, Jesse Lasky, Jack Gariss, Fredric M. Frank
- Genres
- Drama, Faith & Spirituality, Classics
- In Theaters
- Oct 5, 1956 Wide
- Studio
- Paramount Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
With a running time of nearly four hours, Cecil B. De Mille's last feature and most extravagant blockbuster is full of the absurdities and vulgarities one expects, but it isn't boring for a minute.
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Variety Staff, Variety
DeMille remains conventional with the motion picture as an art form. The eyes of the onlooker are filled with spectacle. Emotional tug is sometimes lacking.
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Stephen Garrett, Time Out
It's the gigantic vulgarity, the obsessive righteousness of the director himself, which keeps the show on the road and suffuses the movie with its daft power.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
The crammed contents are linked ponderously in a long, warning movie sermon that has authority but little power.
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Leonard Maltin, Leonard Maltin's Picks
It seems as if some films are perpetually being restored, with each new version touted as better than the last. That said, I can assure you that the new DVD and Blu-ray edition of...
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Cast
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Charlton Heston
as God (Uncredited), Moses
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Yul Brynner
as Rameses
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Anne Baxter
as Nefertiri
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Edward G. Robinson
as Dathan
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Yvonne De Carlo
as Sephora
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Debra Paget
as Lilia
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John Derek
as Joshua
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Nina Foch
as Bithiah
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Cedric Hardwicke
as Sethi
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Martha Scott
as Yochabel
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Judith Anderson
as Memnet
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Vincent Price
as Baka
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John Carradine
as Aaron
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Olive Deering
as Miriam
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Douglas Dumbrille
as Jannes
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Frank de Kova
as Abiram
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Henry Wilcoxon
as Pentaur
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Eduard Franz
as Jethro
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Donald Curtis
as Mered
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Lawrence Dobkin
as Hur Ben Caleb
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H.B. Warner
as Amminadab
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Julia Faye
as Elisheba
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John Miljan
as The Blind One
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Francis McDonald
as Simon
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Ian Keith
as Rameses I
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Paul De Rolf
as Eleazar
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Tommy Duran
as Gershom
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Eugene Mazzola
as Rameses' Son
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Joan Woodbury
as Korah's Wife
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Woody Strode
as King of Ethiopia
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Ramsay Hill
as Korah
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Esther Brown
as Princess Tharbis
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Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer
as Slave
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Dorothy Adams
as Slave Woman
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Luis Alberni
as Old Hebrew
- Lillian Albertson
- Eric Alden
- E.J. Andre
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Michael Ansara
as Taskmaster
- Joel Ashley
- Baynes Barron
- George Baxter
- Mary Benoit
- Robert Bice
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Henry Brandon
as Commander of the Hosts
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Olive Carey
as Miriam
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Fred Coby
as Hebrew at Golden Calf/Taskmaster
- Peter Coe
- Edna Mae Cooper
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Henry Corden
as Sheik of Ezion
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Tony Dante
as Libyan Captain
- Steven Darrell
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Frankie Darro
as Slave
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Ken Dibbs
as Corporal
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Edward Earle
as Slave
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Abbas El Bougbdadly
as Rameses' Charioteer
- Matty Fain
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Franklin Farnum
as High Offical
- Anthony George
- Mimi Gibson
- Gavin Gordon
- Nancy Hale
- Kay Hammond
- Peter Hansen
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Ed Hinton
as Taskmaster/Flagman
- Richard Kean
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Walter Woolf King
as Herald
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Gail Kobe
as Pretty Slave Girl
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Fred Kohler Jr.
as Foreman
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Frank Lackteen
as Old Man in Granary
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Emmett Lynn
as Old Slave Man/Hebrew at Golden Calf
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Kenneth MacDonald
as Slave
- Barry Macollum
- Peter Mamakos
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Joanna Merlin
as Jethro's Daughter
- John Merton
- Paula Morgan
- John Parrish
- Rodd Redwing
- Adeline de Walt Reynolds
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Addison Richards
as Fan Bearer
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Onslow Stevens
as Lugal
- Irene Tedrow
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Joyce Vanderveen
as Jethro's Daughter
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Robert Vaughn
as Spearman
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Clint Walker
as Sardinian Captain
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Frank Wilcox
as Wazir
- Jeane Wood
- Robert Carson
- Robert Clarke
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Michael Connors
as Amalekite Herder
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Cecil B. DeMille
as Narrator
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John Hart
as Cretan Ambassador
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Fraser C. Heston
as The Infant Moses
- George Melford
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Stanley Price
as Slave Carrying Load
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Kathy Garver
as Young Slave
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Noelle Williams
as Jethro's Daughter
- Irene Martin
- James Coburn
- Maude Fealy
- Keith Richards (II)
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Herb Alpert
as Drum Player
- Moe DiSesso
- Eugenia Strauss
- Keith Richards (I)



