The Ten Commandments (Paramount, 1956), Massive (500+) Production Photo and Blueprint Archive....

Description

The Ten Commandments (Paramount, 1956), Massive (500+) Production Photo and Blueprint Archive. Vintage original studio production archive of (500+) photos, blueprints, and other ephemera depicting virtually the entire production process, on location, and in studio, of the epic 1956 Paramount film The Ten Commandments. Having made the Oscar-winning tour de force The Greatest Show on Earth only four years earlier, and Samson and Delilah before that, prolific director Cecil B. DeMille had yet another epic up his sleeve when he premiered The Ten Commandments in 1956. Featuring one of the Bible's most enduring stories, and electric performances from powerhouse stars Charlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brynner as Rameses, the film proved to be not only a critical success, but a commercial one as well, grossing over 120 million dollars against its 13 million dollar budget during its initial release. Cecil B. DeMille's star-studded biblical epic is a film that made a huge impact upon release, which can still be felt to this day with yearly television airings. The film's staying power can be partially attributed to its cast, which also includes Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, and many more, but an equal reason why the film became so beloved is thanks to the extraordinary Egypt location shots, especially the full-scale period set pieces with which DeMille populated the Egyptian desert. All of these many and varied wonders of this uniquely epic production are thoroughly documented and illustrated in this vast, unprecedented, comprehensive archive of vintage production and publicity photos of cast, crew, props, locations, etc., plus blueprints, schematics, elevations, etc. for construction of sets and props. An additional large file within the archive contains numerous prop continuities from the earlier 20th-Century Fox film The Egyptian, as DeMille arranged to purchase many props from Fox for re-use. Some photos throughout are stamped variously "Paramount Research Dept.", "Script" or hand-written, "Goodstein" (presumed for Robert Goodstein, the credited propmaster). Vast majority remain archived within their original scene-numbered/titled manila envelopes. It is difficult, if not impossible, to imagine a more comprehensive documentation of such an important iconic entry in Hollywood history, at least outside of institutional holdings. All photos examined outside their envelopes exhibit virtually no wear, age, or handling, with a few exceptions of corner creases or other minor signs of production use, while a relative handful exhibit tape stains, corner losses, tears, and other significant rough handling. Blueprints show expected folds and production handling, with commensurate age toning for this medium. Comes with a COA from Heritage Auctions.

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