🎬 Movies Mates PEOPLE
Cecil B. DeMille
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 Ho…
Read full 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.
Biography expanded
BODY OF WORK
Cecil B. DeMille's Filmography
Select any movie to open its full Movies Mates details page.
Indiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Yul Brynner, the Magnificent
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle II
as Self
Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle
as Self (archive footage)
Hail Satan?
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille
as Self
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
as Self (archive footage)
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
as Self (archive footage)
The Making of The Ten Commandments
as Self
The Casting Couch
No Poster
All-Time Movie Greats
as Self (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Showbiz Ballyhoo
as Self (archive footage)
Hooray for Hollywood
as Self (archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
The Buccaneer
as Presenter of Prologue
The Buster Keaton Story
as Cecil B. DeMille (uncredited)
The Ten Commandments
as Narrator (uncredited)
Son of Paleface
as Photographer (uncredited)
The Greatest Show on Earth
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
The Fallbrook Story
as Self, Introduction
Sunset Boulevard
as Cecil B. DeMille
Samson and Delilah
as Narrator (uncredited)
Unconquered
as Self - Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Variety Girl
as Cecil B. DeMille
Jens Mons in America
as Self (uncredited)
Screen Snapshots (Series 25, No. 1): 25th Anniversary
as Self
The Story of Dr. Wassell
as Voice of Narrator (uncredited)
Reap the Wild Wind
as Prologue Speaker (voice) (uncredited)
Star Spangled Rhythm
as Cecil B. DeMille
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
as Self
North West Mounted Police
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
The Movies March On
as Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Extra Girl
as Cecil B. DeMille
No Poster
The Hollywood You Never See
as Self
Hollywood on Parade No. B-5
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Madam Satan
as Radio Newscaster (voice) (uncredited)
Estrellados
as Self (Guest Appearance)
Free and Easy
as Director Cecil B. DeMille (uncredited)
The Circus: Premiere
as Self
Life in Hollywood No. 1
as Self
Life in Hollywood
as Self
Hollywood
as Cecil B. DeMille
A Trip to Paramountown
as Self
No Poster
The Affairs of Anatol - Promo Reel
as As himself
The Squaw Man
as Faro Dealer