THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1923)

 

I've mentioned a few posts ago how I had been reading Scott Eyman's EMPIRE OF DREAMS, a biography of Cecil B. DeMille. Ironically last month Edward R. Hamilton Booksellers had on sale the Paramount DVD of DeMille's silent 1923 version of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, a version I had not yet seen. Being in a DeMille mood, I ordered the DVD, which features a very nice print of the film, backed by an original music score by Gaylord Carter. 

The big difference between the '23 COMMANDMENTS and DeMille's 1956 remake is that the silent version has a modern parallel tale involving contemporary American characters. Unfortunately this modern tale takes up over 60% of the film. When DeMille announced his plans to make a story concerning the Commandments, his film making partners were highly skeptical, so perhaps the director felt the modern scenes would be help sell the movie to a current audience. Many historical/religious epics of the silent era had modern parallel stories, such as D.W. Griffith's INTOLERANCE and Micheal Curtiz's NOAH'S ARK. The modern scenes of the '23 COMMANDMENTS are the least effective parts of the film, and prevent it from being one of DeMille's best productions overall. 

The biblical prologue of the 1923 version is pure DeMille spectacle, despite the fact that it was filmed entirely in California. It omits any details of Moses' early life, and starts right out with the Israelites being persecuted by the Egyptian Pharaoh. The movie mentions the Plagues, but does not show them, as Moses demands that his people be set free. The Exodus, the parting of the Red Sea, and the revelation of the Ten Commandments are shown, along with the destruction of the Golden Calf. 

The actors who play the major roles in the biblical portion of the '23 COMMANDMENTS are basically unknown today, but in a way that makes the film seem more authentic (the viewer isn't watching stars with well-known personalities). The acting is rather grandiose (Moses in the '23 film has a resemblance to Gene Hackman's blind man in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN), but it fits this type of presentation. The scenes inside Pharaoh's throne room have a moody, expressionistic style about them, and DeMille ramps up the spectacle during the Exodus sequence, with huge sets and hundreds of extras. The parting of the Red Sea in this version is still quite impressive. 

The biblical portion of the '23 COMMANDMENTS only runs about 50 minutes, and it's surprising that DeMille didn't think about making it a bit longer and releasing it as a separate feature. The modern story that follows runs about 86 minutes, and it's a turgid, slow-moving lecture against immorality. 

The modern tale is set in San Francisco, and it deals with the McTavish family, a elderly mother and her two grown sons, three excessively stereotypical characters. Mother McTavish (Edythe Chapman) is a dour, disapproving woman who is so obsessed with religion that she cradles her over-sized Bible as if it were a newborn baby. Her eldest son John (Richard Dix) is virtuous and self-sacrificing to a fault, and he's also a poor carpenter (get it??). The youngest son, Dan (Rod La Rocque) laughs at his mother's sanctimonious ways, and tells one and all that he intends to break every single Commandment. After this declaration, any viewer of this film knows exactly what they are in for. 

John and Dan both love Mary (Leatrice Joy), but in the time-honored tradition of American women before and since, she chooses bad-boy Dan. Dan becomes rich, mainly due to the fact that he's totally corrupt, while John toils away, still living with his mother. Dan gets a contract to build a massive cathedral, and, in order to cut costs, uses shoddy materials in its construction. The not-yet completed structure collapses, causing tragedy for all concerned, but Dan has even more problems than that--his mistress is a sultry Eurasian (Nita Naldi) who happens to be an escapee from a leper colony! 

I highly doubt this modern sequence caused any sinner to change their ways (except perhaps having them leave the theater early). DeMille and his multiple cameramen tried to inject as much visual style into the modern section as possible, but its over-the-top melodramatics and hit-you-upside-the-head message makes it hard going for anyone in the 21st Century. 

DeMille's next religious epic was THE KING OF KINGS, and in that one the director avoided any modern parallels, stuck strictly to the life of Jesus as related in the Bible, and made what I consider his greatest silent film. 

The biblical portion of the 1923 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS is certainly worth watching for any film geeks, and it makes a great comparison to DeMille's 1956 remake, in which he even reused some of the same shot compositions. The modern storyline is just excess baggage, and it's the type of material that people who can't stand silent films refer to. The Paramount DVD of the '23 version doesn't even use any images from the modern story on the disc case.