The Bible in film in Genesis was the 1904 French film "Joseph Vendu Par Ses Frères" ("Joseph Sold by his Brothers"). Enrico Guazzoni's 1913 Italian epic "Quo Vadis?" is often considered the first successful feature-length motion picture and one of the first films with over two hours running time. Cecil B. DeMille specialized in extravagant epics throughout a career that spanned both the silent and sound eras. His 1923 silent version of "The Ten Commandments" (1923) included spectacular special effects for the parting of the Red Sea. De Mille followed "The Ten Commandments" in 1927 with "King of Kings", a lavish, reverential life of
Henry Churchill de Mille Maude Adams in a tale about business and politics in America. Belasco and de Mille chose to go their separate ways by 1891. Later that October de Mille produced "The Lost Paradise", his adaptation of the Ludwig Fulda play "Das Verlorene Paradies". The production by Charles Frohman's company proved to be another success and was considered to be de Mille's best work to date. As he was finishing "The lost Paradise", de Mille read Henry George's famous treatise "Progress and Poverty" and immediately became a dedicated Georgist "single-taxer". De Mille resolved to write a conclusion to "The Lost Paradise" called