# Banning 10 Commandments Movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2007, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973 "2007-12-22T22:35:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/1 "2007-12-22T22:35:17Z")
Greetings, I’m writing to ask a question about an urban legend I remember, but can’t find any other corroboration for. It is regarding the movie, “The Ten Commandments”, by Cecil B. DeMille, in 1956, starring Charton Heston. What I’d heard was that the movie was banned by the Catholic Church, and no Catholics should ever see it. The ban may have been lifted since then, either formally or informally. I do recall that most of the nuns at my grammar school hated even the mention of the film, to the confusion of other students, and me as well. It was only later that I heard the rumor. I also realize that it could have simply have been a non-formal disapproval – many people will react to entertaining portrayals of religious figures negatively, disapproving that the original is neglected, the topic gets romanticized, or some other disrespect gets worked in. I’d also heard the rumor that the movie in particular was racy, hence the disapproval. Here’s how that rumor goes. At the end of the film, when they have the Golden Calf, with the orgy is in full swing, and Dathan tries to sacrifice the good girl, “something” may have been seen. Given that it was 1956, this could have been a bit more cleavage, or leg. Or it could have been nudity. Or it could have been nothing, just the plot was too intense for the time – helpless woman, sacrifice, orgy, all happening at once, was just too much for people. As I understood it, at that time, there were no standards and practices board, every theater set their own community standards at that time. So when enough of them balked, the offending seconds of celluloid were cut out. Now they’re lost forever, either they’re too racy for the annual TV showing. Or perhaps they’re now within modern standards, but not available for inclusion in the DVD. Unfortunately, I can’t find the rumor anywhere else, not on IMDB or Wikipedia, which are full enough of most other rumors. I suppose what we’d need is a reference by a film critic, who saw the before and after, and made some sort of comment. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/2 "2007-12-22T23:05:18Z")
I was four years old, so I can’t say for sure. What I do know is that the old Legion of Decency (later called the National Catholic Office on Motion Pictures) had several levels of ratings, similar to today’s ratings systems. They ranged from “morally unobjectionable for all” through “morally unobjectionable for adults,” “morally unobjectionable for adults with reservations,” “morally objectable for all,” and the biggy – “condemned.” It would have been really, really unusual for a mainstream Hollywood release in the 1950s to be condemned. It may have been that the old Legion of Decency advised it would be inappropriate for children for whatever reason. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/3 "2007-12-22T23:17:57Z")
I just Googled on the phrases “Legion of Decency,” “ratings,” and “The Ten Commandments.” Several of the things that came up were Google references to the contents of books. Two of them made it clear that in fact the Catholic Church loved the movie. I don’t know why the people who told you that they didn’t like it came to be so mistaken, but it’s just not true that Catholics disliked the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/4 "2007-12-22T23:28:09Z")
The Ten Commandments was rated A-1 by the legion. You can find an archive of ratings here: [http://www.usccb.org/movies/t/tencommandmentsthe1956.shtml](http://www.usccb.org/movies/t/tencommandmentsthe1956.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/5 "2007-12-22T23:34:59Z")
Heston would have mentioned something like that in one of his autobiographies, one would think. He didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/6 "2007-12-22T23:38:40Z")
I was thirteen at the time and went to see it with my Sunday School class. If it was a cut version, we never heard about it. And I’ve never heard of a missing portion. About the sexiest thing in the movie was the way Anne Baxter said the name _Moses_. Her lips practically trembled. (BTW, Baxter was a granddaughter of Frank Lloyd Wright.) And I’ve always thought that Yul Brenner would do in a pinch. Eroticism was mostly just suggested in those days. Even the word _virgin_ (from _The Moon Is Blue_ was considered an eyebrow-raiser. Since none of my girlfriends knew what _virgin_ meant, we certainly didn’t know what an orgy was. That scene probably went right over our heads. (Oooh! Wiggly people!) Showing legs wasn’t considered offensive though. Remember those pinups from WWII? ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2007, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/7 "2007-12-22T23:54:20Z")
In the weekly paper that was published by the local diocese “The Catholic Weekly” I would look for the Legion of Decency ratings. All of the movies in the category “Condemned” I would put on a mental list of movies that I needed to see before I die. The “condemned” list included stuff like “La Dolce Vita”, “Pawnbroker” and anything with Bridget Bardot. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/8 "2007-12-23T05:22:06Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] The Ten Commandments was rated A-1 by the legion. You can find an archive of ratings here: [http://www.usccb.org/movies/t/tencommandmentsthe1956.shtml](http://www.usccb.org/movies/t/tencommandmentsthe1956.shtml) [/QUOTE] The US Conference of Catholic Bishops still publishes those ratings. Perusing the recent releases lists, I see that, for example, _The Santa Clause 3: the Escape Clause_ was rated A-I – suitable for anyone. _Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End_ was rated A-II – suitable for adults and adolescents. The 2006 version of _Casino Royale_ was rated A-III – suitable for adults only. There used to be an A-IV, which meant “adults, with reservations” but apparently this has been replaced with ‘L,’ for Limited Adult Audience, for movies with “problematic content” that many people won’t like. _Live Free or Die Hard_ was rated L for “Some crude and vulgar words and expressions, gratuitous profanity, a couple making out in a car, innuendo, and pervasive nongraphic violence, including explosions and shootings albeit with little gore.” The worst rating is O – Morally Offensive. _Hitman_ got slammed with an O because of “Pervasive graphic violence, rear and sustained upper-female nudity, nongraphic sexual activity, much rough and some crude language, and two uses of profanity.” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/9 "2007-12-23T05:27:05Z")
[QUOTE=Diceman] The worst rating is O … “Pervasive graphic violence, rear and sustained upper-female nudity, nongraphic sexual activity, much rough and some crude language, and two uses of profanity.” [/QUOTE] What happens if they try to rate _The Story of O_? Cosmic implosion? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/10 "2007-12-23T10:48:01Z")
_The Story of O_ isn’t listed on the website for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. I picked a random famous pornographic movie - _Deep Throat_. It’s rated O - morally objectionable. _The Story of O_ would be rated the same, I guess, if they had bothered to include it. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/11 "2007-12-23T14:46:57Z")
**Captain Amazing** has destroyed the rumor by pointing to the actual rating. I’d like to add, the notion of a biblical epic by Cecil DeMille being down-played by the Catholic Church is just plain silly. DeMille was out to entertain vast masses, and he did it very well; they would certainly have invited the raters to a pre-release screening, and they would have made any cuts necessary to get the highest approval rating. The ratings in those days were partly about politics, and molding films to fit their philosophy/theology. And the Hollywood studios, desirous of reaching the largest possible audience, would certainly have complied with a biblical epic. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/12 "2007-12-23T15:14:55Z")
Are the ratings on that site the same as those initially issued? Because I remember \*\*Miracle on 34th Street \*\* as having been rated by the Legion of Decency as being objectionable for all because the mother was divorced, and on the site it’s listed as A-II, allowed for adults and adolescents. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/13 "2007-12-23T16:12:38Z")
[QUOTE=Bill Door] Are the ratings on that site the same as those initially issued? Because I remember \*\*Miracle on 34th Street \*\* as having been rated by the Legion of Decency as being objectionable for all because the mother was divorced, and on the site it’s listed as A-II, allowed for adults and adolescents. [/QUOTE] Yeah, pretty much like the rating on Galileo’s books have probably changed. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/14 "2007-12-23T16:53:06Z")
For the record, DeMille made two different versions of _The Ten Commandments_. Before the famous Charleton Heston version, he also made a [silent version](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ten_Commandments_%281923_film%29) in 1923. Before the Hays Code, There was a Hollywood trend (participated in by DeMille and others) towards staging racy scenes within Biblical epics – scenes which are comically tame by today’s standards but which aroused the ire of the Legion of Decency. While I don’t know if his 1923 version of the Commandments was particularly controversial, I do know that a couple of his other movies caused some pearl clutching and that the Biblical epic genre, in general, was a large impetus for the develpment of the Production Codes. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2007, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/15 "2007-12-23T17:03:14Z")
[QUOTE=Bill Door] Are the ratings on that site the same as those initially issued? Because I remember \*\*Miracle on 34th Street \*\* as having been rated by the Legion of Decency as being objectionable for all because the mother was divorced, and on the site it’s listed as A-II, allowed for adults and adolescents. [/QUOTE] While I can’t find an _exact_ listing in a newspaper from 1947, I did find a listing of movies which had the “National Legion of Decency” rating listed in parenthesis when it differed from that of _Parent’s Magazine_. The listing said (objectionable in part). So, I doubt that it was “objectionable for all.” ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/16 "2007-12-24T02:16:31Z")
[QUOTE=C K Dexter Haven] **Captain Amazing** has destroyed the rumor by pointing to the actual rating. I’d like to add, the notion of a biblical epic by Cecil DeMille being down-played by the Catholic Church is just plain silly. DeMille was out to entertain vast masses, and he did it very well; they would certainly have invited the raters to a pre-release screening, and they would have made any cuts necessary to get the highest approval rating. The ratings in those days were partly about politics, and molding films to fit their philosophy/theology. And the Hollywood studios, desirous of reaching the largest possible audience, would certainly have complied with a biblical epic. [/QUOTE] And DeMille was a rightwinger and an antisemite, so I imagine his version of your average biblical epic would be pretty much in concert with the Catholic church’s views. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/17 "2007-12-24T03:51:05Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] And DeMille was a rightwinger and an antisemite, so I imagine his version of your average biblical epic would be pretty much in concert with the Catholic church’s views. [/QUOTE] Or possibly Mel Gibson. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/18 "2007-12-24T04:02:55Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] Or possibly Mel Gibson. [/QUOTE] Spearchul brethrun! ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/19 "2007-12-24T15:47:57Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] And DeMille was a rightwinger and an antisemite, so I imagine his version of your average biblical epic would be pretty much in concert with the Catholic church’s views. [/QUOTE] Was he an anti-semite? I hadn’t heard that. I know Bnai Brith protested King of Kings. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973/20 "2007-12-24T16:07:25Z")
The “Legion of Decency”? Why am I thinking this would make another comic-book series all by itself? (“Sponsored by le Capitaine Catholique!”) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banning-10-commandments-movie/430973.md?page=2)