I just had to post this quick update. As you are probably aware, Easter was yesterday and it was the time of the annual viewing of my all-time favorite movie - The Ten Commandments.
I have to relate two of my favorite lines from it. One is when the Pharaoh Sethi, played by Sir Cedric Hardwicke is playing hounds and jackals with Nefretiri, portrayed by Anne Baxter, and his Priest Jannes, the great character actor Douglass Dummbrille, is petitioning him about Moses. Jannes comments that Moses is stealing the grain from the temple granaries and Sethi pats him on the stomach and says "You don't look any leaner." This is too funny!
The next great line happens right after this in the motion picture. Rameses, played by Yul Brynner, comes in and tells Sethi that Moses is trying to raise an army against him, using the Hebrew slaves and the Ethiopians. Sethi goes to see why Moses didn't obey his command to come to court and finds Moses, who is perfectly characterized by Charlton Heston, hard at work raising an obelisk. After it's safely in place, Rameses does the whole weight thing on the scales as an analogy for all the things Moses has done wrong. Moses picks up one brick and says "The strong make many.... the starving make few.... the dead make none. So much for accusations." And then he places the brick on the scales and it outweighs the other side completely. This particular line is one that has stayed with me ever since I saw it in the theaters on it's intial rerelease in 1966.
This is just a perfect example of the brilliance of everyone involved with the movie - the director, Cecil B. DeMille, the writers and Charlton Heston's acting abilities, along with the rest of the cast. Is there any wonder why this wouldn't be my favorite movie? Now, if only they would release an authentic soundtrack album for it.
And one final picture before I go. Here's me dressed as Moses one year for Hallowe'en which I photoshopped and added in the desert background. I really like this movie!
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