Cecil B. DeMille

Cecil B. DeMille Headshot

Director • Producer • Actor

Birth Date: August 12, 1881

Death Date: January 21, 1959

Birth Place: Ashfield, Massachusetts

Having emerged as a potent force during the birth of Hollywood, director Cecil B. DeMille was a crucial figure in the early development of the classic Hollywood narrative filmmaking style. Although less critically revered than D.W. Griffith, DeMille actually played a more important role in shaping the structure of the Hollywood system with films like "The Squaw Man" (1914), "Brewster's Millions" (1914) and "The Cheat" (1915). The commercial success of "The Cheat" allowed DeMille to expand his creative scope to include the popular comedy "Don't Change Your Husband" (1919) and his first attempt at "The Ten Commandments" (1923). After leaving the silent era behind for the brave new world of talkies, DeMille embarked on a highly-profitable partnership with Paramount Pictures that enabled him to make his most memorable films. Among the best was "Cleopatra" (1934), which harkened the penchant for grandeur and large-scale epics that became synonymous with his name. Following a string of lesser works like his first Technicolor venture, "Northwest Mounted Police" (1940), "Reap the Wild Wind" (1942), starring John Wayne, and the flag-waving drama "The Story of Dr. Wassell" (1944), DeMille made three of what many considered to be his finest films: "Samson and Delilah" (1949), "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952) and his remake of "The Ten Commandments" (1956). It was the latter film, with its cast of thousands and groundbreaking visual effects, that cemented DeMille's legacy as a true innovator who helped pioneer modern day epic filmmaking.

Credits

ORF III Spezial zu Ostern

Director
TV Show
2017

The Buster Keaton Story

Self
Movie
1957

The Ten CommandmentsStream

Director
Movie
1956
84%

The Ten CommandmentsStream

Producer
Movie
1956
84%

The War of the WorldsStream

Executive Producer
Movie
1953
89%

The Greatest Show on EarthStream

Director
Movie
1952
49%

The Greatest Show on EarthStream

Producer
Movie
1952
49%

What's My Line?Stream

Guest
TV Show
1950

El Crepúsculo de los DiosesStream

Actor
Himself
Movie
1950

Sunset Blvd.Stream

Self
Movie
1950

Samson and Delilah

Director
Movie
1949

Samson and Delilah

Producer
Movie
1949

Unconquered

Director
Movie
1947

Unconquered

Producer
Movie
1947

The Story of Dr. Wassell

Director
Movie
1944

The Story of Dr. Wassell

Producer
Movie
1944

Reap the Wild Wind

Director
Movie
1942

Reap the Wild Wind

Producer
Movie
1942

Northwest Mounted Police

Director
Movie
1940

Union Pacific

Director
Movie
1939

Union Pacific

Producer
Movie
1939

The Buccaneer

Director
Movie
1938

The Plainsman

Director
Movie
1936

The Plainsman

Producer
Movie
1936

The Crusades

Director
Movie
1935

The Crusades

Producer
Movie
1935

Hollywood You Never See

Self
Movie
1934

Cleopatra

Director
Movie
1934

Four Frightened People

Director
Movie
1934

This Day and Age

Director
Movie
1933

The Sign of the Cross

Director
Movie
1932

The Sign of the Cross

Producer
Movie
1932

The Squaw Man

Director
Movie
1931

Madam Satan

Director
Movie
1930

Madam Satan

Producer
Movie
1930

Free and Easy

Self
Movie
1930

Dynamite

Director
Movie
1929

The Godless Girl

Director
Movie
1929

The Main Event

Producer
Movie
1927

The King of Kings

Director
Movie
1927

The King of Kings

Producer
Movie
1927

The Volga Boatman

Director
Movie
1926

The Volga Boatman

Producer
Movie
1926

Her Man o' War

Producer
Movie
1926

The Golden Bed

Director
Movie
1925

The Golden Bed

Producer
Movie
1925

The Coming of Amos

Producer
Movie
1925

Adam's Rib

Director
Movie
1923

The Ten Commandments

Director
Movie
1923

The Ten Commandments

Producer
Movie
1923

Manslaughter

Director
Movie
1922

Manslaughter

Producer
Movie
1922

A Prodigal Knight

Director
Movie
1921

The Affairs of Anatol

Director
Movie
1921

Fool's Paradise

Director
Movie
1921

Fool's Paradise

Producer
Movie
1921

Why Change Your Wife?

Director
Movie
1920

Why Change Your Wife?

Producer
Movie
1920

Male and Female

Director
Movie
1919

Don't Change Your Husband

Director
Movie
1919

For Better, for Worse

Director
Movie
1919

For Better, for Worse

Producer
Movie
1919

The Squaw Man

Director
Movie
1918

Old Wives for New

Director
Movie
1918

Old Wives for New

Film Editor
Movie
1918

Old Wives for New

Producer
Movie
1918

The Whispering Chorus

Director
Movie
1918

The Whispering Chorus

Film Editing
Movie
1918

The Whispering Chorus

Producer
Movie
1918

Joan the Woman

Director
Movie
1917

Joan the Woman

Producer
Movie
1917

Joan the Woman

Screenwriter
Movie
1917

The Little American

Director
Movie
1917

A Romance of the Redwoods

Director
Movie
1917

A Romance of the Redwoods

Film Editor
Movie
1917

A Romance of the Redwoods

Producer
Movie
1917

The Cecil B. DeMille Classics Collection

Director
TV Show
1915

The Warrens of Virginia

Director
Movie
1915

The Cheat

Director
Movie
1915

The Cheat

Film Editor
Movie
1915

The Golden Chance

Director
Movie
1915

The Golden Chance

Film Editor
Movie
1915

The Golden Chance

Producer
Movie
1915

The Golden Chance

Screenwriter
Movie
1915

Carmen

Director
Movie
1915

Carmen

Film Editing
Movie
1915

Carmen

Producer
Movie
1915

What's His Name?

Director
Movie
1914

The Virginian

Director
Movie
1914

The Squaw Man

Director
Movie
1914

The Squaw Man

Producer
Movie
1914

The Squaw Man

Writer
Movie
1914