In Hollywood a movie director is only as good as his latest film. And Cecil B. DeMille certainly had a whole string of great movies behind him. But now many in Tinseltown had begun to doubt his ability. The reason for this was of course the director's latest project. "Adam's Rib" was a comedy that did dismal business at the box office. So, DeMille realized that drastic measures had to be employed. And quickly!
The director decided to figure out what moviegoers really wanted to see. He promised a reward of $1,000 to whoever came up with the best concept for a new film. And soon the proposals poured in. Several people thought he should do "something about Moses and the Book of Exodus", which sounded like an exciting idea to DeMille. So, within weeks, the movie cameras were rolling at the Guadalupe sand dunes in northern Santa Barbara County. A place chosen for its similarity to Egypt in biblical times. "The Ten Commandments" were on its way.
But it wasn't an easy shoot. At Paramount Pictures' backyard, an army of 1,600 workers struggled to construct the massive sets needed for the movie. They built, among other things, four 35-foot-tall Pharaoh statues, 21 sphinxes and two gates reaching a height of 110 feet. Then the material had to be transported from down-town Los Angeles to the filming location. On the way, two of the statues were decapitated when the truck they were loaded onto drove under a low bridge. Once at the Guadalupe sand dunes, everything must be re-assembled and put in its right places by DeMille and his crew.
Appropriately, "The Ten Commandments" opened at Grauman's Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. That was in December 1923, and the film became a tremendous hit, both among the audience and with the critics of the day. Cecil B. DeMille followed up his success with two new biblical tales. "The King of Kings" in 1927 and "The Sign of the Cross" in 1932. But that, of course, is another story.
The director decided to figure out what moviegoers really wanted to see. He promised a reward of $1,000 to whoever came up with the best concept for a new film. And soon the proposals poured in. Several people thought he should do "something about Moses and the Book of Exodus", which sounded like an exciting idea to DeMille. So, within weeks, the movie cameras were rolling at the Guadalupe sand dunes in northern Santa Barbara County. A place chosen for its similarity to Egypt in biblical times. "The Ten Commandments" were on its way.
But it wasn't an easy shoot. At Paramount Pictures' backyard, an army of 1,600 workers struggled to construct the massive sets needed for the movie. They built, among other things, four 35-foot-tall Pharaoh statues, 21 sphinxes and two gates reaching a height of 110 feet. Then the material had to be transported from down-town Los Angeles to the filming location. On the way, two of the statues were decapitated when the truck they were loaded onto drove under a low bridge. Once at the Guadalupe sand dunes, everything must be re-assembled and put in its right places by DeMille and his crew.
Appropriately, "The Ten Commandments" opened at Grauman's Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. That was in December 1923, and the film became a tremendous hit, both among the audience and with the critics of the day. Cecil B. DeMille followed up his success with two new biblical tales. "The King of Kings" in 1927 and "The Sign of the Cross" in 1932. But that, of course, is another story.