Cecil B. DeMille
Directing
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
Directing78
movieThe Ten Commandments
1956
Director
movieSamson and Delilah
1949
Director
movieUnconquered
1947
Director
movieReap the Wild Wind
1942
Director
movieUnion Pacific
1939
Director
movieThe Buccaneer
1938
Director
movieThe Plainsman
1936
Director
movieThe Crusades
1935
Director
movieCleopatra
1934
Director
movieFour Frightened People
1934
Director
movieThis Day and Age
1933
Director
movieThe Sign of the Cross
1932
Director
movieThe Squaw Man
1931
Director
movieMadam Satan
1930
Director
movieDynamite
1929
Director
movieThe Godless Girl
1928
Director
movieThe King of Kings
1927
Director
movieThe Volga Boatman
1926
Director
movieThe Road to Yesterday
1925
Director
movieThe Golden Bed
1925
Director
movieFeet of Clay
1924
Director
movieTriumph
1924
Director
movieThe Ten Commandments
1923
Director
movieAdam's Rib
1923
Director
movieManslaughter
1922
Director
movieSaturday Night
1922
Director
movieFool's Paradise
1921
Director
movieThe Affairs of Anatol
1921
Director
movieForbidden Fruit
1921
Director
movieWhy Change Your Wife?
1920
Director
movieMale and Female
1919
Director
movieFor Better, for Worse
1919
Director
movieThe Squaw Man
1918
Director
movieTill I Come Back to You
1918
Director
movieOld Wives for New
1918
Director
movieThe Whispering Chorus
1918
Director
movieThe Devil Stone
1917
Director
movieNan of Music Mountain
1917
Director
movieThe Woman God Forgot
1917
Director
movieThe Little American
1917
Director
movieJoan the Woman
1916
Director
movieThe Dream Girl
1916
Director
movieMaria Rosa
1916
Director
movieThe Heart of Nora Flynn
1916
Director
movieThe Golden Chance
1915
Director
movieTemptation
1915
Director
movieThe Cheat
1915
Director
movieChimmie Fadden Out West
1915
Director
movieCarmen
1915
Director
Kindling
1915
Director
movieChimmie Fadden
1915
Director
movieThe Arab
1915
Director
movieThe Wild Goose Chase
1915
Director
movieThe Captive
1915
Director
movieThe Unafraid
1915
Director
movieThe Warrens of Virginia
1915
Director
movieAfter Five
1915
Director
movieThe Ghost Breaker
1914
Director
movieThe Rose of the Rancho
1914
Director
movieThe Man From Home
1914
Director
movieWhat's His Name
1914
Director
movieThe Virginian
1914
Director
movieThe Call of the North
1914
Director
movieThe Only Son
1914
Director
movieThe Master Mind
1914
Director
movieBrewster's Millions
1914
Director
movieThe Squaw Man
1914
Director
Production62
movieThe Buccaneer
1958
Executive Producer, Producer
movieThe Ten Commandments
1956
Producer
movieThe War of the Worlds
1953
Executive Producer
movieSamson and Delilah
1949
Producer
movieUnconquered
1947
Producer
movieReap the Wild Wind
1942
Producer
movieUnion Pacific
1939
Producer
movieThe Buccaneer
1938
Producer
movieThe Plainsman
1936
Producer
movieCleopatra
1934
Producer
movieFour Frightened People
1934
Producer
movieThis Day and Age
1933
Producer
movieThe Sign of the Cross
1932
Producer
movieMadam Satan
1930
Producer
movieThe Godless Girl
1928
Producer
movieLet 'Er Go Gallegher
1928
Executive Producer
movieThe Angel of Broadway
1927
Producer
movieThe Fighting Eagle
1927
Producer
movieVanity
1927
Producer
movieThe King of Kings
1927
Producer
movieWhite Gold
1927
Producer
movieThe Volga Boatman
1926
Producer
movieSilence
1926
Producer
movieWhispering Smith
1926
Producer
movieThe Wedding Song
1925
Producer
movieThe Dressmaker from Paris
1925
Supervising Producer
movieFeet of Clay
1924
Producer
movieTriumph
1924
Producer
movieThe Ten Commandments
1923
Producer
movieAdam's Rib
1923
Producer
movieSaturday Night
1922
Producer
movieForbidden Fruit
1921
Producer
movieWhy Change Your Wife?
1920
Producer
movieMale and Female
1919
Producer
movieOld Wives for New
1918
Producer
movieThe Woman God Forgot
1917
Producer
movieThe Little American
1917
Producer
movieLost and Won
1917
Producer
movieBetty to the Rescue
1917
General Manager
movieJoan the Woman
1916
Producer
movieThe Golden Chance
1915
Producer
movieThe Cheat
1915
Producer
movieChimmie Fadden Out West
1915
Producer
movieCarmen
1915
Producer
Kindling
1915
Producer
movieChimmie Fadden
1915
Producer
movieThe Arab
1915
Producer
movieThe Captive
1915
Producer
movieThe Warrens of Virginia
1915
Producer
movieThe Ghost Breaker
1914
Producer
movieThe Man From Home
1914
Producer
movieWhat's His Name
1914
Producer
movieBrewster's Millions
1914
Producer
movieThe Squaw Man
1914
Producer
Acting54
tvThe U.S. and the Holocaust
2022
Self (archive footage)
movieIndiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age
2021
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
movieYul Brynner, the Magnificent
2020
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
moviePatterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle
2020
Self (archive footage)
movieHail Satan?
2019
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
movieSword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic
2019
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
movieFascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
2012
Self (archive footage)
movieWhy Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
2007
Self (archive footage)
All-Time Movie Greats
1988
Self (archive footage)
movieGoing Hollywood: The '30s
1984
Self (archive footage)
movieHollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
movieShowbiz Ballyhoo
1982
Self (archive footage)
movieHooray for Hollywood
1976
Self (archive footage)
movieBrother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975
Self (archive footage)
tvSpécial cinéma
1974
Self (archive footage)
movieThe Buccaneer
1958
Presenter of Prologue
movieThe Buster Keaton Story
1957
Cecil B. DeMille
movieThe Ten Commandments
1956
Narrator (uncredited)
movieSon of Paleface
1952
Photographer (uncredited)
movieThe Greatest Show on Earth
1952
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
movieThe Fallbrook Story
1952
Self, Introduction
movieSunset Boulevard
1950
Cecil B. DeMille
movieSamson and Delilah
1949
Narrator (uncredited)
movieUnconquered
1947
Self - Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
movieVariety Girl
1947
Cecil B. DeMille
movieJens Mons in America
1947
Self (uncredited)
movieThe Story of Dr. Wassell
1944
Voice of Narrator (uncredited)
movieReap the Wild Wind
1942
Prologue Speaker (voice) (uncredited)
movieStar Spangled Rhythm
1942
Cecil B. DeMille
movieNorth West Mounted Police
1940
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
movieThe Movies March On
1939
Self (archive footage)
movieHollywood Extra Girl
1935
Cecil B. DeMille
movieHollywood on Parade No. B-5
1933
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
movieMadam Satan
1930
Radio Newscaster (voice) (uncredited)
movieEstrellados
1930
Self (Guest Appearance)
movieFree and Easy
1930
Director Cecil B. DeMille (uncredited)
movieHollywood
1923
Cecil B. DeMille
movieThe Squaw Man
1914
Faro Dealer
Writing21
movieThe Love Mask
1916
Writer
movieChimmie Fadden
1915
Writer
movieThe Arab
1915
Writer
movieThe Captive
1915
Writer
movieThe Circus Man
1914
Writer
movieReady Money
1914
Writer
movieWhat's His Name
1914
Writer
Lord Chumley
1914
Theatre Play
movieThe Squaw Man
1914
Writer
Editing18
movieLand of Liberty
1939
Editor
movieJoan the Woman
1916
Editor
movieTemptation
1915
Editor
movieThe Cheat
1915
Editor
movieCarmen
1915
Editor
movieChimmie Fadden
1915
Editor
movieThe Captive
1915
Editor
movieWhat's His Name
1914
Editor
movieThe Virginian
1914
Editor
Crew1
movieRed Dice
1926
Presenter