The Ten Commandments : Anne Baxter didn't cut it as an Egyptian princess

It was the 50s.

E.G. Robinson was probably a poor choice, too, but

The overacting of Baxter, and the excellent acting of Edward G. are very important to this film.

Short Cut, Draw Blood

i can say she was pretty, but miss de carlo nailed it as sephora.

She had the energy and screen presence to carry her part successfully, and as a major star, to help carry this huge production . . . she did her duty!

I kept expecting her to pull a lipstick out of a purse or light up a cigarette

What a ridiculous statement. Obviously a troll looking for a hostile response.

The internet is for lonely people. People should live. Charlton Heston

I agree! She's the main reason why I watch this film every year, since my childhood! Anne Baxter was awesome. As for the troll, I won't feed him. Let him starve for the attention he craved.

I agree! She's the main reason why I watch this film every year, since my childhood! Anne Baxter was awesome. As for the troll, I won't feed him. Let him starve for the attention he craved.

Anne Baxter is also the main reason I watch it too! I LOVED her portrayal of Nefretiri and her chemistry with Heston!

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#Evil Regal#

She gave a great "movie star" performance, which is what the part required.

Eddie G. was great in his role. The only reason people think he was out of place in this movie is because of that stupid Billy Crystal routine.

Veteran British critic Dilys Powell wrote at the time that Anne Baxter was the only person in the film 'with any life'. (In the same review, in the London 'Sunday Times' in 1956, Dilys Powell was probably the first commentator to object to the length of a film by pleading with the director 'Let my people go!' In 1960, and independently, US comedian Mort Sahl famously made the same plea vocally to Otto Preminger at a preview of the director's "Exodus".)

As for lipstick, there's plenty of evidence that Ancient Egyptian upper-class women used lots of makeup - and so did upper-class men. In this film neither sex is shown with the amount of makeup that they should be wearing - both sexes used broad eyeliner. (This may have originated in the practice of putting kohl around children's eyes to protect them from insects.) Also, Egyptian pharaohs usually had deeply-pierced earlobes and often wore huge earrings - here the three pharaohs wear none.

(Has anyone noticed that Anne Baxter's hairstyle makes her look like Maria Montez in the 1947 movie "Siren of Atlantis"? However, DeMille has priority. He had Claudette Colbert wearing the same hairstyle in both "The Sign of the Cross" [1932] and "Cleopatra"[1934].)

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by
rimnod-17089
Mon Apr 6 2015 06:07:06
IMDb member since March 2015

I kept expecting her to pull a lipstick out of a purse or light up a cigarette.

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She did seem to be bit more of a vamp than a princess.

Miscast to say the least.

True, but DeMille decided she wasn't voluptuous enough. More importantly, she may have been a great actress, but wasn't a vamp.


The Fabio Principle: Puffy shirts look best on men who look even better without them.

That wasn't quite it, DeMille concluded that Audrey Hepburn, although undeniably beautiful, just didn't look good in the Egyptian style garments he wanted her to wear, whereas Anne Baxter looked spectacular. He could have just redesigned the wardrobe so that it would look good for Audrey Hepburn, but he was really committed to the style that he had because they were relatively authentic, the clothing that would have been designed for Hepburn would not have been as authentic.

This is all news to me. Ancient Egypt had a rigid hierarchical culture with a fabulously wealthy ruling class. The Nile Delta produced so much food that it has been called 'The Breadbasket of the Mediterranean'.

You shouldn't generalise about Asian people. Many of my Asian friends were born in India or Sri Lanka - or even Bangladesh - and were obviously well-nourished when they came to live in Britain. I have even known obese Asian women. And India has always had an ultra-rich upper class - as much today as in the past.

She is wonderful.

I don't think lipstick's could actually light a cigarette. Even in the 1950's.

Just watched the film again last night for the umpteenth time and was bowled over by it. I actually think it gets better every time I see it, and I've been watching it for over 50 years now. Anne Baxter was truly magnificent in every way! If De Mille had substituted Baxter for an Egyptian actress there would have been thousands of fans complaining "why didn't he cast a Hollywood actress in the role?"