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TLS, three pages, 8.5 x 11, typed on his personal Paramount Pictures Corporation letterhead with Moses image and “Current Production, ‘The Ten Commandments’ seal, August 2, 1954. Letter to businessman and diplomat Stanton Griffis, the former head of Paramount Pictures (1935-1942) who also served as the United States Ambassador to Egypt from 1948-1949. In full: “Don Robb, who is heading our TEN COMMANDMENTS unit now in Egypt, advises me that, when I get there, it will be necessary for me to make calls on Ambassador Caffery, President Naguib, Premiere Nasser, Major Salem, and the Ministers of War and Interior; and that I should give a reception to which all members of the Revolutionary Command Council and the Ministers of State would be invited. The Egyptian government has been very cooperative and cordial to our unit and to me personally.
Knowing a little about Egyptian sensitiveness and the importance of impressions made by Americans abroad, I can't help a certain feeling of walking on eggs so naturally I turn to you for advice. Would it be at all possible to have someone from our Embassy in Cairo — someone with standing and diplomatic know-how — assigned to pilot me through these strange waters, brief me on the personalities and politics involved, accompany me on these courtesy calls, translate for me where necessary, advise about the reception, and answer the several hundred questions that are likely to arise about matters of protocol, who's who, etc., etc.?
While I have had some pleasant exchange of letters with Ambassador Caffery, I do not know him well enough to ask him directly if this could be done much less to ask him out of a clear sky to detach one of his good staff men to do it. You will understand that I do not think of asking this for my personal convenience, but only because I hope that our visit will have a good effect on American-Egyptian relations (not to mention the investment which Paramount have in it).
I have to keep social engagements to an absolute in fact, I cannot have any beyond what the official minimum courtesies demand and I hope that these can all be taken care of in the first few days I am in Egypt, as I cannot mix them in with the rugged schedule we shall have when we start shooting, five days after arrival. If we could have a man from the Embassy, therefore, he would be relatively free after five days, except for emergencies.
With regard to the Ambassador, would it be right for me to invite him (and Mrs. Caffery, if there is one) to dinner the evening of the day I arrive in Cairo? This has been suggested as a way of fulfilling my obligation to him and getting his impressions of the situation as quickly as possible but then would he have to give me a dinner at the Embassy, from which I could not excuse myself?
Two final questions. Is there any restriction on official calls or social functions on Friday, the Moslem sabbath? And, in view of the position of women in Moslem countries, to what extent can my daughter, Cecilia, and her husband, who will be with me, substitute for me if any unavoidable social duties come up after I start shooting and am out of circulation? I wouldn't write you such a long letter as this if I did not envy the superior knowledge and experience which will enable you to tell me what I need to know right off the cuff!" In fine condition. Accompanied by Griffis’s 1955 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences membership card.
Filming for Cecil B. DeMille's epic film The Ten Commandments began on October 13, 1954, roughly two months after this letter was dispatched to Griffis, a former studio boss and seasoned diplomat to Poland, Argentia, Spain, and Egypt, a country DeMille was eager to become familiarized. Filmed on location in Egypt, Mount Sinai, and the Sinai Peninsula, The Ten Commandments was DeMille's most successful work, his first widescreen film, his fourth biblical production, and his final directorial effort before his death in 1959. Released on November 8, 1956, The Ten Commandments was, at the time of its release, the most expensive film ever made. Conversely, it also became one of the most financially successful films ever made, grossing approximately $122.7 million at the box office during its initial release. The film was nominated for seven Oscars and DeMille won the Foreign Language Press Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director.
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