Released: 1956

Dir.: Cecil B. DeMille

Dathan (Edward G. Robinson) was a small-time punk from Goshen who dreamed of being a big shot. As Hebrew overseer of the slaves of Goshen, he’d rat out his own mother to get in good with Pharaoh. Baka, the Master Builder (Vincent Price) was his steppingstone to the top of the pyramid of success and power, where the air was always balmy. Dathan was a snitch and a toady. But, not for long.

Baka had eyes for Lilia, the water girl (Debra Paget), a dame, cursed with beauty who was in love with Joshua the ill-tempered stonecutter (John Derek). The Master Builder took Lilia from the mud pits to his palatial home on ‘the right side of the tracks’. This of course drives Dathan nuts. Fortunately, Joshua and Moses (Charlton Heston) solve Dathan’s problem when Moses, former Prince of Egypt, and torpedo from up the Nile, wrings the life out of Baka with his own whip.

Joshua realizes that Moses is the deliverer that the Hebrews have been praying for and starts flapping his gums. Moses thinks this is nonsense, but it’s too late, Dathan has been in the shadows the whole time and witnessed everything.

The next morning at the crime scene, Rameses (Yul Bryner) is conducting his investigation. But before he can round up the usual suspects, Dathan comes forward, offering up the name of the deliverer, for a price. Trying Rameses’ patients, Dathan will give up the deliverer in exchange for Baka’s stately home, the Governorship of Goshen, and Lilia the water girl. When Dathan produces the goods on Moses, Rameses grants everything Dathan wants. Moses is banished to the wilderness, his name stricken from every pylon and tablet. Dathan can now start building his criminal empire.

As the years pass, Rameses becomes Pharaoh, things are going well for Egypt, Dathan settles into a life of lavish parties and shoving the slaves around. Dathan is the big shot he always dreamed he would be, a governor with the Pharaoh’s ear, wealth beyond his wildest dreams, and Joshua’s beautiful girlfriend. Then Moses blows back into town.

Moses brings several plagues to Egypt. The first plague backfires, and Dathan seizes the opportunity to turn the slaves of Goshen against Moses, but the stiff-necked slaves of Goshen where a hard sell. Moses upped the ante, but Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened. Moses had an ace up his sleeve, where Pharaohs’ own words would bring the final plague to Egypt, and all of Egypt’s first born are condemned to death, including Pharaoh’s own son.

The Angel of Death descends on Egypt in the form of an eerie green mist. God has provided a safeguard to those who place lambs blood around their doorposts and lintel, and death will Passover your house. Joshua, in order to save Lilia, applies blood at Dathan’s house. When the Egyptians find out, Dathan is tossed out with the Hebrews when Pharaoh finally grants them their freedom. Dathan’s empire comes crashing down.

The Hebrews pack up and leave, Dathan tries to make a deal with the Egyptians, but they tell him to buzz off. So, Dathan joins the Exodus, with the new title of loser.

While the Hebrews make their way to the Red Sea, Dathan grumbling all the way, Pharaoh’s wife Nefretiri (Anne Baxter), lights a fire under Rameses, who vows to rub out the Hebrews and bring back his sword covered in Moses’ blood to avenge the death of their son and only heir. Pharaoh’s Chariot, led by Rameses, set out after the Hebrews.

At the Red Sea, God channels his powers through Moses, stops Pharaoh’s Chariot with a pillar of fire, parts the Red Sea, and the Hebrews make good their escape. Pharaoh’s pursuing army is consumed by the reconverging sea, and Pharaoh returns to his wife a big failure.

At Mount Sinai, Moses climbs the mountain to receive God’s laws. However, Dathan thinks it’s taking far too long, and despite having seen the amazing sights of the pillar of fire and the parting of the Red Sea, Dathan tries to convince the people that Moses is a fraud. A large portion of the people buy what Dathan is selling, and they decide to create their own God, a golden calf. Of course, a new idol needs a sacrifice, so Dathan volunteers Lilia, who is understandably reluctant. No matter, Lilia is tied to the calf, and the crowd goes wild.

The camp is now a hot bed of sin and vice, with Dathan at the centre of it all. He’s back on top again, Mr. Big, and not even Moses and his ‘so-called’ God can knock him off his pedestal.

Moses returns and shows Dathan whose boss. Throwing God’s law at the sinners, Moses knocks Dathan off his pedestal and Dathan is promptly consumed by the fiery bowels of the Earth. Lilia is saved and Moses leads the Hebrews to wander for 40 years, until Dathan’s evil influence is eradicated once and for all.

Anyone who has seen Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments knows Edward G. Robinson, as Dathan, is only awesome. Because of Robinson’s casting, he is my favourite character.

At his heart Dathan is a gangster for ancient times. He wants power and he doesn’t care who he has to betray, or sacrifice, to get it. It is easy to see a tiny hint of Little Caesar’s ‘Rico’ coming through in the performance, his stunned disbelief when something doesn’t quite go his way, or his cocky overconfidence when he has the masses in the palm of his hand. When Lilia is tied to the Golden Calf, Dathan dances around and sings with glee, it is a joy to watch.

Dathan also possesses the characteristic of one of my all-time favourite pop-culture characters, Wile E. Coyote. Dathan is not a quitter. When the chips are down, he still manages to find a way to come out smelling like a rose. He is also a master con man.

Having witnessed firsthand the pillar of fire and the astounding parting of the Red Sea, that saves all their lives, Dathan easily convinces the Hebrews that Moses has played them for a bunch of chumps. He even goes so far as to convert them into idol worshippers, just like the Egyptians they fought so hard to escape.

This all may sound like I am routing for Dathan. Absolutely not. Dathan’s fate at the end of the picture is wonderfully satisfying and then some. It’s simply that Dathan, and Robinson’s portrayal of him, makes him a terrific villain, and he is situated perfectly between Moses and Rameses. He stands as a kind of thorn in both their sides at one point or another.

The Ten Commandments is old-fashioned, Hollywood fun. Filled with many memorable moments and scenes. Yul Bryner’s Rameses, having his battle armour put on for him, is the ultimate in power and narcissism. Bryner is the only one who could ever pull that off. The Angel of Death clawing down from the sky, past the moon, is still chilling, as are the screams of its unseen victims.

Of course, the immense scale of the movie is undeniable. As many have said, the parting of the Red Sea holds up extremely well, even compared with the CG effects of today. I still get chills when I see it and prefer not to know how the effect was accomplished. I also get chills from the raising of the obelisk as well, and that may also have something to do with Elmer Bernstein’s accompanying music, which is triumphant.

It’s easy to take jabs at The Ten Commandments, in part due to its age, and part how it’s been entrenched into Western culture, thanks to annual airings on TV. Practically everyone has seen it at least once. However, its message never changes. You can’t have freedom without laws. Without law, you have a society where characters like Dathan flourish.

So let it be written, so let it be done. So there.

The Ten Commandments is available on DVD and Blu-ray from Paramount Home Video. And of course, be seen every Easter/Passover on ABC-TV, check your local listings.