The Ten Commandments Vintage Poster Jewish Biblical Movie

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The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic religious drama film produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille, shot in VistaVision (color by Technicolor), and released by Paramount Pictures. Based on the 1949 novel Prince of Egypt by Dorothy Clarke Wilson, the 1859 novel Pillar of Fire by J. H. Ingraham, the 1937 novel On Eagle’s Wings by A. E. Southon,  and the Book of Exodus, The Ten Commandments dramatizes the biblical story of the life of Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince who becomes the deliverer of his real brethren, the enslaved Hebrews, and thereafter leads the Exodus to Mount Sinai, where he receives, from God, the Ten Commandments. The film stars Charlton Heston in the lead role, Yul Brynner as Rameses, Anne Baxter as Nefretiri, Edward G. Robinson as Dathan, Yvonne De Carlo as Sephora, Debra Paget as Lilia, and John Derek as Joshua; and features Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Sethi, Nina Foch as Bithiah, Martha Scott as Yochabel, Judith Anderson as Memnet, and Vincent Price as Baka, among others.

Filmed on location in Egypt, Mount Sinai and the Sinai Peninsula, The Ten Commandments was DeMille’s most successful work, his first widescreen film, his fourth biblical production, and his final directorial effort before his death in 1959. It is a remake of the prologue of his 1923 silent film of the same title, and features one of the largest exterior sets ever created for a motion picture. Four screenwriters, three art directors, and five costume designers worked on the film. The interior sets were constructed on Paramount’s Hollywood soundstages. The original roadshow version included an onscreen introduction by DeMille and was released to cinemas in the United States on November 8, 1956, and, at the time of its release, was the most expensive film ever made.

Invasion The German army invaded France on 10 May 1940. On 22 June 1940, the French surrendered and signed an armistice with the Nazis. France was then divided in two zones. Northern France was occupied and controlled by Germany. The unoccupied southern zone came under the control of a new French Government led by Marshal Philippe Petain, a World War I hero. Established in the spa town of Vichy, the government and area became known as the Vichy France. General Charles de Gaulle, who opposed Petain’s surrender to the Germans, fled to Great Britain and set up a French Government-in-exile. Many other Frenchmen who wanted to free France from the Germans also supported de Gaulle and fought with the British. Anti-Jewish laws In the summer of 1940, 350,000 Jews were living in France. More than half the Jewish population were not French citizens. Many were Jews who had emmigrated to France from easten Europe after World War I. In addition, many more were Jewish refugees fleeing antisemitism within Nazi Germany and other areas occupied by the Nazis. Almost immediately after the German invasion, Jews living in the occupied zone, and in Vichy France, were subjected to various anti-Jewish measures. In the controlled zone, Jews were dismissed from their jobs and their freedom of movement was restricted. Many Jews were arrested. Collaboration The Vichy Government began to persecute Jews. In October 1940, they passed a set of anti-Jewish laws, defining who was a Jew and limiting their involvement in French society. In March 1941 the Vichy authorities, under pressure from the Germans, set up an Office for Jewish Affairs. Jewish property and businesses were confiscated under Aryanisation laws. Initially, the Vichy Government’s anti-Jewish measures were directed against Jews who were of non-French citizensip. Many thousands were sent to forced labour camps or imprisoned. However, at the end of April 1942, Pierre Laval joined the Vichy Government as prime minister. Laval said Vichy should collaborate fully with the Nazis. From then on the Vichy regime began to persecute all Jews, irrespective of their citizenship. Deportations In June 1942, the Germans forced the Jews in the occupied zone to wear the Star of David. Throughout the summer of 1942, they arrested Jews for deportation, and restricted the movements of the remaining community. These ‘roundups’ were usually carried by French police who collaborated with the Nazis. In one aktion which took place in Paris on 16-17 July 1942, 12,000 were rounded up. Around 7,000 of them were crammed into the Velodrome d’Hiver sports stadium for several days; with no food, water, or sanitation. Many thousands more Jews were sent by cattle car to Drancy transit camp in a suburb of Paris. From there they were deported to the east. The Vichy authorities also arrested and deported Jews from their zone. During the war approximately 80,000 Jews were deported from France. Of these, 70,000 were sent to Auschwitz. The remainder were sent to Majdanek, Sobibor and Buchenwald. By the end of the war just 2,000 of those who were deported had survived.