Still Photographs, Publicity, and the Making of Cecil B. DeMille's Ten Commandments (1956)

ABSTRACT:From 1954 to 1956, tens of thousands of still photographs were taken, reviewed, printed, and circulated to promote Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1956). By tracing the conflicts that emerged over their management, this study centers the photographs and their distribution within an ecosystem of public relations, print media, and film production. While studio photographers produced the bulk of the photographs, their role was overshadowed by celebrity photographers, including Yousuf Karsh and Yul Brynner. Changes in the visual media landscape and Hollywood's photographic infrastructure threatened both the still photographers and the ability of studio publicists to shape the narrative.