The Ten Commandments (1956 film) The Ten Commandments (1956 film) The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic religious drama film produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille, shot in VistaVision (color by Technicolor), and released by Paramount Pictures. The film is based on "Prince of Egypt" by Dorothy Clarke Wilson, "Pillar of Fire" by J.H. Ingraham, "On Eagle's Wings" by A.E. Southon, and the Book of Exodus. "The Ten Commandments" dramatizes the biblical story of the life of Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince who becomes the deliverer of his real brethren, the enslaved Hebrews, and therefore leads the Exodus to Mount Sinai, where
The Ten Commandments (1956 film) aired "The Ten Commandments" on the Saturday night prior to Easter, with the broadcast starting at 7:00 p.m. in the Eastern and Pacific Time Zones and 6:00 p.m. Central and Mountain. The film is the only pre-scheduled "ABC Saturday Movie of the Week" of the year. Unlike many lengthy films of the day, which were usually broken up into separate airings over at least two nights, ABC elected to show "The Ten Commandments" in one night and has done so every year it has carried the film, with one exception; in 1997, ABC elected to split the movie in two