Martha Ellen Scott was an American actress. She was featured in major films such as Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1956), and William Wyler's Ben-Hur (1959), playing the mother of Charlton Heston's character in both films. She originated the role of Emily Webb in Thornton Wilder's Our Town on Broadway in 1938 and later recreated the role in the 1940 film version, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Scott in 1942
Frank Craven, Martha Scott and John Craven in the original Broadway production of Our Town (1938)
Scott as Moses' mother, Yochabel, in The Ten Commandments (1956)
Scott with second husband Mel Powell in 1947
The Ten Commandments (1956 film)
The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic religious drama film produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille, shot in VistaVision, and released by Paramount Pictures. The film is based on the 1949 novel Prince of Egypt by Dorothy Clarke Wilson, the 1859 novel Pillar of Fire by J. H. Ingraham, the 1937 novel On Eagle's Wings by A. E. Southon, and the Book of Exodus, found in the Bible. The Ten Commandments dramatizes the biblical story of the life of Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince who becomes the deliverer of his real brethren, the enslaved Hebrews, and thereafter leads the Exodus to Mount Sinai, where he receives, from God, the Ten Commandments. The film stars Charlton Heston in the lead role, Yul Brynner as Rameses, Anne Baxter as Nefretiri, Edward G. Robinson as Dathan, Yvonne De Carlo as Zipporah, Debra Paget as Lilia, and John Derek as Joshua; and features Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Seti I, Nina Foch as Bithiah, Martha Scott as Yochabel, Judith Anderson as Memnet, and Vincent Price as Baka, among others.
Theatrical release poster by Macario Gómez Quibus
DeMille holds a photograph of Charlton Heston looking at Michelangelo's Moses. Heston's resemblance to the sculpture helped him win the role of Moses.
"Nefretiri ruled the glamor arena some 3,200 years ago", wrote Anne Baxter, "and it's surprising how much the ladies of that day knew about the art of stalking a man."
Portraits of the film's stars and featured players figured prominently in this poster.