Fresh off the success of his dubious best picture win for The Greatest Show on Earth, Cecil B. DeMille decided to mine the Bible for his next big epic. The Ten Commandments would not only provide him with a way to 'stand up' to communism's atheism, it would also be a great way to take advantage of the expansive big silver screen. This would be the second time Mr. DeMille had tackled the biblical story; he had made a silent version of the film in 1923.
