- Born
- Died
- Place
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille (August 12, 1881 – January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker, known as a founder of the Hollywood motion-picture industry, one of the most commercially successful producer-directors of his time, and one of the most influential filmmakers in history. Between 1914 and 1956, he made seventy feature films; all but seven were profitable. Cecil B. DeMille is synonymous with religious epics: The King of Kings, Samson and Delilah, and The Ten Commandments (1956). He blended spectacle, sex, and spellbinding narrative to convey a message of faith.
It was DeMille who created the image of the omnipotent director, megaphone in hand, wearing boots and a visored cap. DeMille gave Hollywood numerous stars: Wallace Reid, Gloria Swanson, William (“Hopalong Cassidy”) Boyd, Claudette Colbert, Robert Preston, Jean Arthur, and Charlton Heston.
DeMille created the posts of studio story editor, art director, and concept artist. He was one of the first to use theatrical lighting on a movie set. In the late 1920s, when Hollywood converted to sound films, DeMille defied the sound experts, liberating the camera from a confining booth, and implementing the microphone boom.
DeMille’s authority extended beyond the confines of his studio. He was a power in aviation, banking, politics, and real estate. In the 1930s, his fame as a filmmaker was surpassed by his fame as a radio star.
He was a founder of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, an institution from which he eventually won two awards. In 1953 his film The Greatest Show on Earth won the Award for Best Picture of 1952; and he was presented with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.
DeMille’s influence on world culture is incalculable, but there are estimates and milestones. His biography of Jesus Christ, The King of Kings, was a silent film, but because of a unique distribution arrangement, it was eventually seen by 800 million viewers. Samson and Delilah (1949) and The Ten Commandments (1956) are still listed with the top ten all-time box-office champions. They continue to generate revenue and provoke thought.
As director
The Ten Commandments
The Greatest Show on Earth
Samson and Delilah
Unconquered
The Story of Dr. Wassell
Reap the Wild Wind
North West Mounted Police
Union Pacific
The Buccaneer
The Plainsman
The Crusades
Four Frightened People
Cleopatra
This Day and Age
The Sign of the Cross
The Squaw Man
Madam Satan
Dynamite
The Godless Girl
The King of Kings
The Volga Boatman
The Golden Bed
The Road to Yesterday
Feet of Clay
Triumph
The Ten Commandments
Adam's Rib
Manslaughter
Saturday Night
Forbidden Fruit
As actor
Indiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age
Yul Brynner, the Magnificent
Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle II
Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle
Hail Satan?
Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic
The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
The Making of The Ten Commandments
The Casting Couch
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Showbiz Ballyhoo
Hooray for Hollywood
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
The Buccaneer
The Buster Keaton Story
The Ten Commandments
Son of Paleface
The Greatest Show on Earth
The Fallbrook Story
Sunset Boulevard
Samson and Delilah
Variety Girl
Jens Mons in America
Unconquered
Screen Snapshots (Series 25, No. 1): 25th Anniversary
The Story of Dr. Wassell
Reap the Wild Wind