I have seen the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille epic The Ten Commandments at least two dozen times. There is nothing to compare to this lavish spectacle with its insanely vivid costumes and a cast that included every living available SAG member. It tells the story of Passover, which begins tonight at sundown. In the movie, Pharaoh’s daughter, Bithiah, was played by Nina Foch while Charlton Heston’s real life son, Fraser, “played” the baby. (See pic below.) The movie will air, as it has since 1973, on the Saturday before Easter at 7pm on ABC. It ends around midnight.
Prior to 2005, Roger Williams Park had been home to one of DeMille’s most famous publicity stunts, one of the hundreds (estimates vary) of Ten Commandments monuments that he so generously donated to cities and towns across the country. Following a complaint from the ACLU, the monument was relocated.
Seen here is “The Finding of Moses” which can be found next to the staircase in the Museum of Natural History in Roger Williams Park. It was executed by Francesco Barzaghi of Milan and exhibited in the famous Paris Exhibition of 1878. The wall text states:
Depicting the Pharaoh’s daughter holding the infant Moses in a basket of bulrushes, this statue was a gift of the Demarco Brothers of Hartford Avenue, Providence. For many years the statue stood beside the outer wall of the Providence Ice Cream Company.
Apparently I am not alone in my love for this movie. From TV Insider ;
For nearly 50 years now, since 1973, ABC has regularly aired Cecil B. DeMille’s Oscar-winning 1956 biblical epic The Ten Commandments during the Easter and Passover holidays season.
The network only neglected to broadcast the film once during this time, in 1999, but the viewer outcry over that omission must have been enough of a commandment from fans that ABC learned they shalt not do that again, and the film has continued to air annually ever since.
Bithiah finds and adopts Moses early in the film. You can learn more about adoption at Adoption Rhode Island. They will be holding a fundraiser on May 2 at the Biltmore.
