Prompt Cast
The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille: A Forgotten Film Set Discovered in California
TLDR Filmmaker Peter Brosnan unearthed the lost City of the Pharaoh film set in California, which was used in Cecil B. DeMille's 1923 silent film "The Ten Commandments." The set, buried beneath sand, contained statues of Pharaoh Ramses II and sphinxes, and efforts are underway to further excavate the site.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Filmmaker Peter Brosnan discovered a lost Egyptian city in Santa Barbara County, California, which contained statues of the Pharaoh Ramses II and sphinxes.
01:52
Cecil B. DeMille, a prominent Hollywood filmmaker, shifted from making small melodramas to larger-scale epic films and was known for his financial success and popular appeal, particularly with his 1923 silent film "The Ten Commandments."
03:13
Cecil B. DeMille planned to make a film with two parts, one being the biblical story of Moses and the Ten Commandments and the other being a modern story; the first part required the construction of a massive film set, known as the City of the Pharaoh, in the Guadalupe Nipomo Sand Dunes in Santa Barbara County.
04:31
The filming of the City of the Pharaoh in the Guadalupe Dunes was impressive, with 2500 actors housed in a giant tent city for two months, and the film was successful despite going over budget.
05:49
The set of the City of the Pharaoh was abandoned and forgotten, but in the 1980s, a filmmaker named Peter Brosnan obtained permission to search for it and discovered that it was still buried beneath the sand.
07:04
After facing problems with permits and funding for many years, filmmaker Peter Brosnan was finally able to start digging in 2012 and recovered the head of one of the Sphinx statues from the City of the Pharaoh set, which is now on display at a local museum, with ongoing efforts to raise money for further excavation.
08:18
The film set of the City of the Pharaoh is an important part of early film history and is the oldest film set that exists, with the Technicolor version of the 1923 Ten Commandments available to view on YouTube, and filmmaker Peter Brosnan's documentary, The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille, can be watched on Amazon Prime Video and other streaming platforms.
