lugonian THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (Paramount, 1923), a super special production directed by Cecil B. DeMille, is the director's attempt in religious spectacle. Although DeMille already directed a story on Joan of Arc in JOAN THE WOMAN (1917), this is his attempt on doing something a little bit different from his previous efforts. As with the earlier silent classic of D.W. Griffith's INTOLERANCE (1916), consisting of four separate stories in no particular order, this edition to THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, unlike DeMille's most famous super four-hour 1956 edition starring Charlton Heston, this earlier 136 minute production combines Old Testament story according to Exodus followed by another story set in modern times. The Biblical portion, clocked at 50 minutes, as opposed to the modern-day story taking up much of the proceedings at 85 minutes, could have been a separate movie at best. With two movies for the price of one, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS simply shows God's Law being as relevant today as it was centuries ago.Opening Title: "Our modern world defined God as a "religious complex" and laughed at The Ten Commandments as OLD-FASHIONED. Then through the laughter came the shattering thunder of the World War. And now a blood drenched, bitter world - no longer laughing - cries for a way out. There is but one way out. It existed before it was engraved upon tablets of stone. It will exist when stone has crumbled. The Ten Commandments are not rules to obey as a personal favor to God. They are the fundamental principles without which mankind cannot live together. They are not laws they are the LAW."Prologue: Egypt, centuries ago, where slaves are seen pulling the wheels carrying a gigantic statue, with those getting whipped as they tire of such strenuous work. Ramesus, the Magnificent (Charles DeRoche) rules with no compassion while his sister, Miriam (Estelle Taylor) offers water to the abused slaves. Moses, the Lawgiver (Theodore Roberts), through the guidance of God's voice, leads His Children of Israel from bondage to the Promised Land. As Moses goes to Mount Sinai to speak to God in prayer, God answers him by posting on two tablets through volts of lightning his law he labels The Ten Commandments. In the meantime, his people are forsaking their God in favor of worshipping the Golden Calf. Modern Story: Widow Martha McTavish (Edythe Chapman) is an overly religious woman with two grown sons, John (Richard Dix), a carpenter, and Dan (Rod LaRocque), an atheist who fails to see his mother's logic in her beliefs. While eating at Dugan's Lunch Wagon, Dan encounters Mary Leigh (Leatrice Joy), a homeless young girl accompanied by her dog, out in the rain, stealing his food. Rather than having her arrested, Dan invites her to her home for dinner with the company of his suspicious mother and brother. Through the passage of time, John has fallen in love with Mary, but loses her to Dan. Dan doesn't prove himself a good husband as he practically breaks the Ten Commandments by having a mistress in Sally Lung (Nita Naldi) from Molokai Leper Island, and being the one responsible for one of his crooked deals by using bad concrete on a Cathedral he is constructing, and much more. For anyone expecting a near scene-by-scene original edition to DeMille's 1956 remake would be totally disappointed. The Biblical portion of the story shows great promise with lavish scale and costumes which makes one wish the entire story remained that way for about or under two hours. Theodore Roberts plays the white-bearded Moses to perfection, possibly his most famous movie role of his entire career. Special effects including the parting of the Red Sea is top notch, as is the visual style of the Ten Commandments flashing across the screen in full force. Though THE TEN COMMANDMENTS did prove successful in its standard form, the sudden change to modern theme seems out of place. For The Ten Commandments, it's the same then as it is today, which is what DeMille proposes to his movie audience of 1923. Those witnessing Edythe Chapman's performance as an overly religious and domineering mother could possibly relate to her character who has been raised in similar circumstance, with her forceful meaning turning away children from God rather than becoming closer. Rod LaRocque, who resembles that of actor Rudolph Valentino, convincingly plays the one who gets turned off by religion. Richard Dix, early in his career before his success in talkies and beyond, and he being the best known actor in the entire cast, should gather the most attention from movie buffs. And that's Agnes Ayres in a cameo playing an outcast for the modern story.Formerly presented on cable television's American Movie Classics (1993-1998), THE TEN COMMANDMENTS was also available on video cassette around the same time, accompanied by excellent organ score by Gaylord Carter. DVD with same scoring with crisp picture print condition features an added bonus of a commentary spoken by author, Katherine Orrison, whose historical accounts regarding this movie is most informative for those unfamiliar with THE TEN COMMANDMENTS according to DeMille. (***)

MARIO GAUCI This was another Biblical epic from the Silent era which I had long wanted to check out; even so, I had owned the DVD (accompanying the more popular 1956 version of the same events, from the same showman director no less, and which has received countless viewings from yours truly) for some time before I finally got to it. As with the later NOAH'S ARK (1928), virtually watched simultaneously, it seems that film-makers of the time were unsure of the appeal of such religious epics, so that they had to present them within the context of a modern story; still, De Mille's THE KING OF KINGS (a milestone in itself for being the first and, for a time, only picture to show Jesus' face) preceded that Michael Curtiz work by a year and it was set exclusively in the time of Christ. In this case, only the first 50 minutes or so are dedicated to the familiar tale involving Moses (needless to say, the dull Theodore Roberts is no match for the stoic Charlton Heston in the remake): the exodus, the parting of the Red Sea, the writing of the tablets and the Golden Calf; these are clearly heavily streamlined in comparison with the almost 4-hour long 1956 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS and, in spite of their obvious care, gargantuan scale and excellent special effects, can feel unsatisfying in that respect...especially when the parallel story is so hokey, unnecessarily inflated and, at the end of the day, somewhat ordinary! The latter sees a Bible-thumping matriarch (which she proudly holds even when posing for a portrait), her two sons and the girl who comes between them: one of the boys (played by Richard Dix) is righteous – and, as his mother claims, engaged in a skill (carpentry) which has produced some notable exponents (alluding naturally to Christ himself) – while the other mocks religion and vows to become somebody by his own merits. Eventually, we find him as a top contractor and, perhaps to make amends, takes it upon himself to build a church; however, to cut costs, he reduces the amount of cement required to make the concrete, with the result that the walls are weak and liable to collapse at any time (coincidentally, the very previous day I watched a film in which a character had faced a similar dilemma – GIVE US THIS DAY aka Christ IN CONCRETE [1949]): this ruse is discovered by Dix, appointed "boss-carpenter" on the project, and he confronts his brother…but, before anything can be done about it, the whole edifice falls on top of the mother who picks just that moment to visit the premises! The morally-corrupt sibling even forsakes his wife (the destitute girl they had taken in and whom Dix relinquished on his account) for an Asian temptress, whom he eventually kills (the only commandment, according to his spouse, not yet broken by him); in the end, the boy gets his come-uppance and Dix can reclaim his lady. While the two sections may seem to jell better than those in NOAH'S ARK, the overall achievement is a lesser one – and not just to it, but THE KING OF KINGS (by the way, Christ makes a 'cameo' appearance here towards the end!) and, most importantly, the later version…if still quite worthwhile in itself.

Michael_Elliott Ten Commandments, The (1923) *** (out of 4) DeMille's first attempt at this story tells two different stories. The opening prologue, running just under and hour, sees Moses (Theodore Roberts) freeing the slaves, parting the Red Sea and eventually correcting those who wish to worship the Golden Calf. The second half of the story centers on two brothers; one good (Richard Dix), the other bad (Rod La Rocque) and both in love with the same woman (Leatrice Joy). The bad brother ends up marrying the girl and becoming quite rich by breaking the law in his building contractor position but all of his sins are eventually going to catch up with him. This is certainly a strange mixture of a film because I was a little surprised to see DeMille spend most of its 136-minute running time with the two brothers. The beginning stuff with Moses is pretty much just a prologue but it's a rather interesting one needless to say. While the special effects can't hold a candle to the eventual remake what we have here is still a treat for the eyes. The parting of the Red Sea certainly sticks out and while it's somewhat obvious how it was done the effect still holds up and manages to impress. The chariot crashes, which were apparently real, also stand out as does the large number of extras to carry out the Pharaoh scenes. Roberts, a DeMille regular, is pretty good in the role of Moses even though he comes off a tad bit too passionate. The second half of the film is rather hit and miss but for the most part I enjoyed it as well. The real standout here is the performance by Richard Dix who would of course go on to have an impressive career in film. He steals the film as the more timid brother who puts God before everything and his passion, a deep one, comes across very well with Dix hitting all the right notes. La Rocque is also devilishly good in his role and very believable as well. Joy makes for a good "woman in the middle" as well. Edythe Chapman, another DeMille regular, plays the boys mother but doesn't fair as good. Her character is so poorly written and over the top in her religious beliefs and demands that you can't help but start to hate her when she's suppose to be the one holding the family together. I wasn't impressed with the performance either but I'm going to guess much of this is more to do with the screenplay than anything else. The biggest problem with the film is that the second half is pretty common for the type of melodrama of the day. While it's told very well by DeMille it still comes off rather predictable and straight forward. With that said, this 1923 silent still holds up quite well on all levels and folks should certainly check it out to see what DeMille would later remake. The director would fair better several years later with The King of Kings.

Snow Leopard It's interesting just to watch DeMille's first, silent film version of "The Ten Commandments", and the picture itself is pretty interesting too. It is also occasionally impressive, sometimes with the kind of DeMille flourishes that one expects, sometimes with a satisfying dramatic turn. It's quite different in its conception from the more familiar 1950's version, and so direct comparisons are not always possible, yet it holds up well by itself anyway.Rather than concentrating on the biblical story, as in the remake, here DeMille first tells an abbreviated version of the Moses/Exodus narrative, and then uses it as the thematic basis for a modern morality tale. There are many parallels between the two stories, and while the parallels are occasionally forced, they often work surprisingly well. The modern-day story is similar to many other films of the 1910's and 1920's, but it is interesting and it is told well.Although DeMille is known for his lavish spectacles, he also knew how to create some more subtle effects when he wanted to. In the modern story, some of the developments are a bit contrived, but the characters generally ring true, and the story itself is worthwhile as well. While the lavish remake with color and sound is probably going to remain more well-known, this earlier version is well worth seeing, too.