Cecil B DeMille
Name : Cecil B DeMille
Birth : 12 August 1881 
Died : 21 January 1959  
Nationality : American
Hollywood Walk Star: Yes
Cecil B DeMille
Comment
Cecil B DeMille was a producer and director of some of the greatest epic films from the 1920's and 1930's and a major influence on the development of Hollywood. He initially started producing plays with his brother before moving California and the early film industry. His first film was the Squaw Man filmed for the first time in Hollywood and unusally at that point made the stage play into a feature film rather then the normal one reel (20 minute film). His first solo production was The Virginian. He directed a lot of films in a variety of different genres in 1914/15 though few survive. He was creating and exploring what film could be. In 1917 he worked with Mary Pickford then the biggest star in Romance Of The Redwoods. In 1919 he directed the first of his films staring Gloria Swanson (Don't Change Your Husband). His first Biblical epic was the silent 1923 The Ten Commendments. This was produced on a vast scale with hugh sets and a large cast. In the Volga Boatmen he develops his cinematrgraphic style. The King Of Kings was the story of the life of Jesus and was also a commercial success. This really created the Biblical epicand the ressurection is filmed in two strip colour. Dynamite in 1929 was his first full sound film. He embraced all that sound could bring to film. He remade The Sqaw Man as a sound film as his inital sound films were not commercially successful. The Sign Of The Cross in 1932 returned to a religious theme though has violence and sexuality and has the classic scene with Claudette Colbert bathing in asses milk. With Cleopatra his sets produce the Hollywood version of art deco authentic Egypt that attracted the depression era audiences. He followed this with another massive epic The Crusades. With The Pailnsman he made a western spectacle that had little historical accuracy. His first full colour film was North West Mounted Police in 1940. After World War 2 he returned to Biblical epics with Samson And Delilah in 1949. The Greatest Show On Earth is one of the best circus films and introduced Charlton Heston to films. His final film ws a remake of The Ten Commandments in 1956.
Director
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Greatest Show On Earth (1952)
Samson And Delilah (1949)
North West Mounted Police (1940)
The Plainsman (1936)
The Crusades (1935)
Cleopatra (1934)
Four Frightened People (1934)
The Sign Of The Cross (1932)
The Sqaw Man (1931)
Dynamite (1929)
The King Of Kings (1927) Silent
Tha Volga Boatman (1926) Silent
The Ten Commandments (1923) Silent
Affairs Of Anatol (1921) Silent
Why Change Your Wife? (1920) Silent
Don't Change Your Husband (1919) Silent
The Little American (1917) Silent
A Romance Of The Redwoods (1917) Silent
The Viginian (1914) Silent
Squaw Man (1914) Silent

Producer
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Greatest Show On Earth (1952)
Samson And Delilah (1949)
North West Mounted Police (1940)
The Plainsman (1936)
The Crusades (1935)
Cleopatra (1934)
Four Frightened People (1934)
The Sign Of The Cross (1932)
The Sqaw Man (1931)
Dynamite (1929)
The King Of Kings (1927) Silent
Tha Volga Boatman (1926) Silent
The Ten Commandments (1923) Silent
Affairs Of Anatol (1921) Silent
Why Change Your Wife? (1920) Silent
Don't Change Your Husband (1919) Silent
A Romance Of The Redwoods (1917) Silent

Oscars
Won - Best Director - Greatest Show On Earth (1952)