Cecil B. DeMille
- Known for
- Directing
- Born
- August 12, 1881
- Died
- January 21, 1959 (aged 77)
- Birthplace
- Ashfield, Massachusetts, USA
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.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
The Ten Commandments
Movie · Director
The Greatest Show on Earth
Movie · Director
Samson and Delilah
Movie · Director
Unconquered
Movie · Director
The Story of Dr. Wassell
Movie · Director
Reap the Wild Wind
Movie · Director
North West Mounted Police
Movie · Director
Union Pacific
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The Buccaneer
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The Plainsman
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The Crusades
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Four Frightened People
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Cleopatra
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This Day and Age
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The Sign of the Cross
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The Squaw Man
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Madam Satan
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Dynamite
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The Godless Girl
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The King of Kings
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The Volga Boatman
Movie · Director
The Golden Bed
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The Road to Yesterday
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Feet of Clay
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Triumph
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The Ten Commandments
Movie · Director
Adam's Rib
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Manslaughter
Movie · Director
Saturday Night
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Forbidden Fruit
Movie · Director
The Affairs of Anatol
Movie · Director
Fool's Paradise
Movie · Director
The Affairs of Anatol - Promo Reel
Movie · Director
Why Change Your Wife?
Movie · Director
Something to Think About
Movie · Director
Don't Change Your Husband
Movie · Director
Male and Female
Movie · Director
For Better, for Worse
Movie · Director
The Squaw Man
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The Whispering Chorus
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Old Wives for New
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We Can't Have Everything
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Till I Come Back to You
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Nan of Music Mountain
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A Romance of the Redwoods
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The Woman God Forgot
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The Little American
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The Devil Stone
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Joan the Woman
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The Heart of Nora Flynn
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The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
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Maria Rosa
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The Dream Girl
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The Wild Goose Chase
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The Cheat
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Carmen
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The Golden Chance
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The Warrens of Virginia
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The Unafraid
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Kindling
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The Captive
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The Girl of the Golden West
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Temptation
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Chimmie Fadden Out West
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Chimmie Fadden
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The Arab
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After Five
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The Virginian
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The Ghost Breaker
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The Squaw Man
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Brewster's Millions
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The Rose of the Rancho
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The Man From Home
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The Call of the North
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What's His Name
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The Only Son
Movie · Director
The Man on the Box
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The Master Mind
Movie · Director