Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was 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.
Escaping death, a Hebrew infant is raised in a royal household to become a prince. Upon...
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Samson and Delilah
as Narrator (uncredited)When strongman Samson rejects the love of the beautiful Philistine woman Delilah, she seeks...
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Sunset Boulevard
as Cecil B. DeMilleA hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into...
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The Greatest Show on Earth
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)To ensure a full profitable season, circus manager Brad Braden engages The Great Sebastian,...
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Reap the Wild Wind
as Prologue Speaker (voice) (uncredited)The Florida Keys in 1840, where the implacable hurricanes of the Caribbean scream, where the...
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Unconquered
as Self - Narrator (voice) (uncredited)England, 1763. After being convicted of a crime, the young and beautiful Abigail Hale agrees, to...
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The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille
as SelfFilmmaker Peter Brosnan digs up the set of the 1923 film 'The Ten Commandments', long buried in...
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Hail Satan?
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)The story of The Satanic Temple, a controversial movement that combines religion and activism...
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Indiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)Hawaii, May 1977. After the success of Star Wars, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg meet to find...
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North West Mounted Police
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)Texas Ranger Dusty Rivers ("Isn't that a contradiction in terms?", another character asks him)...
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Variety Girl
as Cecil B. DeMilleDozens of star and character-actor cameos and a message about the Variety Club (a show-business...
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And the Oscar Goes To...
as Self (archive footage)The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND...
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Free and Easy
as Director Cecil B. DeMille (uncredited)Gopher City Kansas hosts a beauty contest. The winner, Elvira Plunkett, and her mother go to...
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Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas,...
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Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American...
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The Story of Dr. Wassell
as Voice of Narrator (uncredited)As the Japanese sweep through the East Indies during World War II, Dr. Wassell is determined to...
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Madam Satan
as Radio Newscaster (voice) (uncredited)A socialite masquerades as a notorious femme fatale to win back her straying husband during a...
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Son of Paleface
as Photographer (uncredited)Peter Potter Jr. returns to claim his father's gold, which is nowhere to be found.
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The Buster Keaton Story
as Cecil B. DeMilleAn inaccurate retelling of the life of silent filmmaker and comedian Buster Keaton.
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Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
as SelfThe edition of Screen Snapshots celebrates 25 years of production. It looks at the content of...
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Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle II
as SelfTHE RED SEA MIRACLE 2 continues to raise big questions about biblical miracles. How could...
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Star Spangled Rhythm
as Cecil B. DeMillePop, a security guard at Paramount has told his son that he's the head of the studio. When his...
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Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
as Self (archive footage)Before the G, PG and R ratings system there was the Production Code, and before that there was,...
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Going Hollywood: The '30s
as Self (archive footage)Robert Preston hosts this documentary that shows what people of the 1930s were watching as they...
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Sword-and-Sandal
as Self (archive footage)The silent cinema had already created colossal movies based on ancient civilizations, but it is...
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Estrellados
as Self (Guest Appearance)A matinée idol and a bumbling manager fight for the love of a would-be starlet. Estrellados is...
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Yul Brynner, the Magnificent
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)The incredible story of the mythical Russian-American actor and filmmaker Yul Brynner (1920-85),...
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The Circus: Premiere
as SelfFootage from the premiere of Charlie Chaplin's 1928 film 'The Circus'.
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Hollywood Extra Girl
as Cecil B. DeMilleA short semi-documentary about a "typical extra girl" on a DeMille film.
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A Trip to Paramountown
as SelfDocumentary short film depicting the filmmaking activity at the Paramount Studios in Hollywood,...
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Hollywood
as Cecil B. DeMilleAngela comes to Hollywood with only two things: Her dream to become a movie star, and Grandpa....
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Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle
as Self (archive footage)In this investigation, filmmaker Timothy P. Mahoney examines the journey to the crossing...
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Hollywood on Parade No. B-5
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)Comedian Lloyd Hamilton escorts a group of beauty contest winners to various Hollywood night spots.
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Life in Hollywood No. 1
as SelfPart of a 7-part series exploring all aspects of Hollywood.
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Screen Snapshots (Series 25, No. 1): 25th Anniversary
as SelfA look back at 25 years of Columbia's series of newsreels chronicling the film industry and the...
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Jens Mons in America
as Self (uncredited)Jens Månsson has big financial problems and realizes that he probably has to leave his dear...
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What's My Line?
as Self - Mystery GuestFour panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while...
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This Is Your Life
as SelfThis Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally...
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The Ed Sullivan Show
as SelfThe Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June...
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