Gregory Peck was a heavy drinker as a young actor in Hollywood. In 1949 he was hospitalized with heart spasms, and while filming David and Bathsheba (1951) he was hospitalized with a suspected heart attack. Though it turned out to be a palpitation brought on by his lifestyle and overwork, he began to drink less thereafter. However, he did not stop smoking for many more years.
The full scale replica of the Ark of the Covenant used in the film was constructed of oiled acacia wood. This prop would be purchased many years later at a 20th Century Fox studio auction by Susan Hayward.
President Lyndon B. Johnson's famous campaign ad, depicting a little girl plucking daisy petals whose count segues into a man's voice counting down to the detonation of an atomic bomb - implying that electing Barry Goldwater president would lead to nuclear Armageddon - aired for the first and only time during the September 7, 1964 telecast of this film on NBC.
Gregory Peck was chosen by producer Darryl F. Zanuck for this epic film because Zanuck thought Peck had a "biblical face".
According to Guinness, this movie was the top money maker of 1951 in the US and Canada.
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