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The director Cecil B. DeMille impersonated the image of a Hollywood
director and producer for many years. He was a great showman and an inspired
storyteller.
He was born into a theater family where his father wrote plays and his
mother led a theater group. When his brother William attended the Academy
of Dramatic Arts in New York City, he followed him soon. There he learned
the acting and the writing of plays.
Together with Jesse Lasky and Samuel Foldfish (later Goldwyn) he created
the "Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Co." in 1913 and shot together with Oscar
Apfel the movie "The Squaw Man" (14). The movie was a success and the three
founders of the company became established.
Together with art director Wilfred Buckland and cameraman Alvin Wyckoff,
Cecil B. DeMille worked out stories for the demand of the cinema which
remained still till today remarkable works. To these movies belong "The
Warrens of Virginia" (15), "The Cheat" (15), "Maria Rosa" (16), "Joan the
Woman" (17), "The Little American" (17) and "The Whispering Chorus" (18).
In 1919 he realised his first social comedy with "Don't Change Your
Husband" (19) und "Male and Female" (19), in which Gloria
Swanson took off her gown discreet in a single scene. These scene was
enthusiastically rewarded by the audience and DeMille shot similar movies
like "Why Change Your Wife?" (20), "The Affairs of Anatol" (21) and "Saturday
Night" (22) in the following years.
When Hollywood was stroken by a whole string of scandals at the beginning
of the 20's, they tried to tackle the image of a modern Gjomorrah. DeMille
reacted to this situation with the movies "Manslaughter" (22) and "The
Ten Commandments" (23) with biblical background.
DeMille founded his own company in the middle of the 20's and realised
among others the movies "The Road to Yesterday" (25), "The Volga Boatman"
(26) and "The King of Kings" (27).
With the arise of the sound movies he went to MGM where he shot the
successful movie "Madam Satan" (30), and after that already the third version
of "The Squaw Man" (31) after 1914 and 1918. It followed other successes
in the 30's like "The Sign of the Cross" (32), "This Day and Age" (33),
"Cleopatra" (34) and "The Crusades" (35).
In the following years his movies became more and more monumental.
He directed the western "The Plainsman" (36) and "Union Pacific" (39) and
the costume movies "The Buccaneer" (38) and "Reap the Wild Wind" (42).
The time he invested into his new projects was more extensive from
year to year, which was positively reflected in the final result. His last
movies reached dimensions his earlier movies didn't have. With "Samson
and Delilah" (49), "The Greatest Show on Earth" (52) and "The Ten Commandments"
(56) - for which he was nominated for the Oscar - he said goodbye to the
audience in an impressive way.
His memoirs were posthumous published with the title "The Autobiography
of Cecil B. DeMille". With the dead of Cecil B. DeMille ended a unique
epoch of Hollywood.
Director:
The Squaw Man (14) Brewster's Millions
(14) The Only Son (14) The Call of the North (14) The Virginian (14) What's
His Name (14) The Man from Home (1) Rose of the Rancho (14) The Ghost Breaker
(14) The Girl of the Golden West (15) After Five (15) The Warrens of Virginia
(15) The Unafraid (15) The Captive (15) The Wild Goose Chase (15) The Arab
(15) Chimmie Fadden (15) Kindling (15) Carmen (15) Chimmie Fadden Out West
(15) The Cheat (15) Temptation (15) The Golden Chance (15) The Trail of
the Lonesome Pine (16) The Heart of Nora Flynn (16) Maria Rosa (16) The
Dream Girl (16) Joan the Woman (17) A Romance of the Redwoods (17) The
Woman God Forgot (17) The Devil-Stone (17) The Whispering Chorus (18) Old
Wives for New (18) We Can't Have Everything (18) Till I Come Back to You
(18) The Squaw Man (18) You Can't Have Everything (18) Don't Change Your
Husband (19) For Better, for Worse (19) Why Change Your Wife? (20) Something
to Think About (20) Forbidden Fruit (21) The Affairs of Anatol (21) Fool's
Paradise (21) Saturday Night (22) Manslaughter (22) Adam's Rib (23) The
Ten Commandments (23) Triumph (24) Feet of Clay (24) The Golden Bed (25)
The Road to Yesterday (25) The Volga Boatman (26) The King of Kings (27)
The Godless Girl (29) Dynamite (29) Madam Satan (30) The Squaw Man (31)
The Sign of the Cross (32) This Day and Age (33) Four Firghtened People
(34) Cleopatra (34) The Crusades (35) The Plainsman (36) The Buccaneer
(38) Union Pacific (39) North West Mounted Police (40) Reap the Wild Wind
(42) The Story of Dr. Wassell (44) Unconquered (47) California's Golden
Beginning (48) Samson and Delilah (49) The Greatest Show on Earth (52)
The Ten Commandments (56)
Producer:
The Squaw Man (14) What's His Name
(14) The Man from Home (14) Rose of the Rancho (14) The Ghost Breaker (14)
The Girl of the Golden West (15) The Captive (15) The ARab (15) Chimmie
Fadden (15) Kindling (15) Carmen (15) Chimmie Fadden Out West (15) Temptation
(15) The Golden Chance (15) The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (16) The Heart
of Nora Flynn (16) Maria Rosa (16) The Dream Girl (16) Joan the Woman (17)
Lost and Won (17) A Romance of the Redwoods (17) The Little American (17)
The Woman God Forgot (17) The Devil-Stone (17) The Whispering Chorus (18)
Old Wives for New (18) We Can't Have Everything (18) Till I Come Back to
You (18) The Squaw Man (18) For Better, for Worse (19) Male and Female
(19) Why Change Your Wife? (20) Something to Think About (20) Forbidden
Fruit (21) The Affairs of Anatol (21) Fool's Paradise (21) Saturday Night
(22) Manslaughter (22) Adam's Rib (23) The Ten Commandments (23) Triumph
(24) Feet of Clay (24) The Golden Bed (25) The Dressmaker From Paris (25)
The Coming of Amos (25) The Road to Yesterday (25) Whispering Smith (26)
The Volga Boatman (26) Her Man o' War (26) The Cruise of the Jasper B.
(26) Whit Gold (27) The Yankee Clipper (27) The King of Kings (27) Hold
'Em Yale (28) The Godless Girl (29) The Squaw Man (31) The Sign of the
Cross (32) This Day and Age (33) Four Frightened People (34) Cleopatra
(34) The Crusades (35) The Plainsman (36) The Buccaneer (38) Union Pacific
(39) North West Mounted Police (40) Reap the Wild Wind (42) The Story of
Dr. Wassell (44) Unconquered (47) Samson and Delilah (49) The Greatest
Show on Earth (52) The Ten Commandemnts (56)
Editor:
What's His Name (14) The Man from
Home (14) Rose of the Rancho (14) The Girl of the Golden West (15) The
Captive (15) The Arab (15) Chimmie Fadden (15) Kindling (15) Carmen (15)
Chimmie Fadden Out West (15) The Cheat (15) Temptation (15) The Golden
Chance (15) The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (16) The Heart of the Lonesome
Pine (16) Maria Rosa (16) The Dream Girl (16) Joan the Woman (17) A Romance
of the Redwoods (17) The Woman God Forgot (17) The Devil-Stone (17) The
Whispering Chorus (18) Old Wives for New (18) We Can't Have Everything
(18)
Writer:
The Squaw Man (14) Lord Chumley
(14) What's His Name (14) The Man from Home (14) Rose of the Rancho (14)
The Ghost Breaker (14) After Five (15) The Captive (15) The Arab (15) Chimmie
Fadden (15) Kindling (15) Chimmie Fadden Out West (15) The Golden Chance
(15) The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (16) The Love Mask (16) Forbidden Fruit
(21) The Night Club (25) |
