The Ten Commandments (1923 film)

The Ten Commandments is a 1923 American silent epic film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Written by Jeanie MacPherson, the film is divided into two parts a prologue recreating the biblical story of the Exodus and a modern story concerning two brothers and their respective views of the Ten Commandments.

Despite its epic scale, the Moses story only takes up about the first third of the film. After that, the story changes to a modern setting involving living by the lessons of the commandments. Two brothers make opposite decisions, one, John, to follow his mothers teaching of the Ten Commandments and become a poor carpenter, and the other, Danny, to break every one of them and rise to the top. The film shows his unchecked immorality to be momentarily gainful, but ultimately disastrous.A thoughtful contrast is made between the carpenter brother and his mother. The mother reads the story of Moses and emphasizes strict obedience and fear of God. The carpenter, however, reads from the New Testament story of Jesus healing of lepers. His emphasis is on a loving and forgiving God. The film also shows the mothers strict lawful morality to be flawed in comparison to her sons version. ........

Source: Wikipedia