Cecil B. DeMille

Born: 1881-08-12 in Ashfield, États-Unis

Died: 1959-01-21

Known For: Directing

Biography

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.

Filmography

2022

The U.S. and the Holocaust as Self (archive footage)

2021

Indiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)

2020

Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle II as Self
Yul Brynner, the Magnificent as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle as Self (archive footage)

2019

Hail Satan? as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)

1988

All-Time Movie Greats as Self (archive footage)

1984

Going Hollywood: The '30s as Self (archive footage)

1983

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

1982

Showbiz Ballyhoo as Self (archive footage)

1976

Hooray for Hollywood as Self (archive footage)

1975

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? as Self (archive footage)

1974

Spécial cinéma as Self (archive footage)

1958

The Buccaneer as Presenter of Prologue

1957

The Buster Keaton Story as Cecil B. DeMille

1956

Cinépanorama as Self
The Ten Commandments as Narrator (uncredited)

1953

The War of the Worlds ... (Executive Producer)

1952

This Is Your Life as Self
The Greatest Show on Earth as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Son of Paleface as Photographer (uncredited)
The Fallbrook Story as Self, Introduction

1950

What's My Line? as Self
Sunset Boulevard as Cecil B. DeMille

1949

Samson and Delilah as Narrator (uncredited)

1948

The Ed Sullivan Show as Self

1947

Unconquered as Self - Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Variety Girl as Cecil B. DeMille
Jens Mons in America as Self (uncredited)

1945

Screen Snapshots (Series 25, No. 1): 25th Anniversary as Self

1944

The Story of Dr. Wassell as Voice of Narrator (uncredited)

1942

Reap the Wild Wind as Prologue Speaker (voice) (uncredited)
Star Spangled Rhythm as Cecil B. DeMille
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10) as Self

1940

North West Mounted Police as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

1939

Union Pacific ... (Director)
Land of Liberty ... (Editor)
The Movies March On as Self (archive footage)

1938

The Buccaneer ... (Director)

1936

The Plainsman ... (Director)

1935

The Crusades ... (Director)
Hollywood Extra Girl as Cecil B. DeMille

1934

Cleopatra ... (Director)
Four Frightened People ... (Director)
The Hollywood You Never See as Self

1933

Hollywood on Parade No. B-5 as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
This Day and Age ... (Director)

1932

The Sign of the Cross ... (Director)

1931

The Squaw Man ... (Director)

1930

Free and Easy as Director Cecil B. DeMille (uncredited)
Madam Satan as Radio Newscaster (voice) (uncredited)
Estrellados as Self (Guest Appearance)

1929

Dynamite ... (Director)

1928

The Godless Girl ... (Director)
Let 'Er Go Gallegher ... (Executive Producer)
The Circus: Premiere as Self

1927

The King of Kings ... (Director)
Vanity ... (Producer)
White Gold ... (Producer)
The Angel of Broadway ... (Producer)
The Fighting Eagle ... (Producer)
Life in Hollywood No. 1 as Self

1926

Red Dice ... (Presenter)
The Volga Boatman ... (Producer)
Whispering Smith ... (Producer)
The Cruise of the Jasper B ... (Producer)
Silence ... (Producer)

1925

The Dressmaker from Paris ... (Supervising Producer)
The Golden Bed ... (Director)
The Wedding Song ... (Producer)
The Road to Yesterday ... (Director)

1924

Feet of Clay ... (Director)
Triumph ... (Producer)

1923

The Ten Commandments ... (Director)
Hollywood as Cecil B. DeMille
Adam's Rib ... (Director)

1922

Saturday Night ... (Director)
A Trip to Paramountown as Self
Manslaughter ... (Director)

1921

Forbidden Fruit ... (Director)
The Affairs of Anatol ... (Director)
The Affairs of Anatol - Promo Reel as As himself
Fool's Paradise ... (Director)

1920

Why Change Your Wife? ... (Director)
Something to Think About ... (Director)

1919

Male and Female ... (Director)
For Better, for Worse ... (Director)
Don't Change Your Husband ... (Director)

1918

The Squaw Man ... (Director)
Old Wives for New ... (Director)
We Can't Have Everything ... (Director)
The Whispering Chorus ... (Director)
Till I Come Back to You ... (Director)

1917

Betty to the Rescue ... (General Manager)
Lost and Won ... (Producer)
The Woman God Forgot ... (Director)
Nan of Music Mountain ... (Director)
The Little American ... (Director)
A Romance of the Redwoods ... (Director)
The Devil Stone ... (Director)

1916

Joan the Woman ... (Director)
The Love Mask ... (Writer)
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine ... (Director)
The Dream Girl ... (Director)
Maria Rosa ... (Director)
The Heart of Nora Flynn ... (Director)

1915

The Cheat ... (Editor)
The Captive ... (Director)
After Five ... (Director)
The Arab ... (Director)
The Golden Chance ... (Director)
Carmen ... (Director)
The Wild Goose Chase ... (Director)
Kindling ... (Producer)
The Unafraid ... (Director)
The Girl of the Golden West ... (Director)
Chimmie Fadden Out West ... (Director)
Temptation ... (Editor)
Chimmie Fadden ... (Writer)
The Warrens of Virginia ... (Director)

1914

The Squaw Man as Faro Dealer
Lord Chumley ... (Theatre Play)
The Rose of the Rancho ... (Editor)
The Virginian ... (Director)
The Man on the Box ... (Director)
The Only Son ... (Director)
The Master Mind ... (Director)
The Ghost Breaker ... (Writer)
Brewster's Millions ... (Director)
The Circus Man ... (Writer)
Ready Money ... (Writer)
The Call of the North ... (Director)
What's His Name ... (Director)
The Man From Home ... (Director)