Highest rated as cast or director
Biography
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.
Directed 75
1950s
- 1956
- 1952
1940s
- 1949
- 1947
- 1944
- 1942
- 1940
1930s
- 1939
- 1938
The Buccaneer
Director
- 1936
- 1935
The Crusades
Director
- 1934
Cleopatra
Director
Four Frightened People
Director
- 1933
This Day and Age
Director
- 1932
- 1931
The Squaw Man
Director
- 1930
1920s
- 1929
- 1928
- 1927
- 1926
The Volga Boatman
Director
- 1925
The Road to Yesterday
Director
The Golden Bed
Director
- 1924
Feet of Clay
Director
Triumph
Director
- 1923
Adam's Rib
Director
- 1922
Manslaughter
Director
Saturday Night
Director
- 1921
Fool's Paradise
Director
Forbidden Fruit
Director
- 1920
Something to Think About
Director
Why Change Your Wife?
Director
1910s
- 1919
Male and Female
Director
For Better, for Worse
Director
Don't Change Your Husband
Director
- 1918
The Squaw Man
Director
Till I Come Back to You
Director
We Can't Have Everything
Director
Old Wives for New
Director
The Whispering Chorus
Director
- 1917
The Devil Stone
Director
Nan of Music Mountain
Director
The Woman God Forgot
Director
The Little American
Director
A Romance of the Redwoods
Director
- 1916
Joan the Woman
Director
The Dream Girl
Director
Maria Rosa
Director
The Heart of Nora Flynn
Director
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
Director
- 1915
The Golden Chance
Director
Temptation
Director
Chimmie Fadden Out West
Director
Carmen
Director
Chimmie Fadden
Director
The Arab
Director
The Wild Goose Chase
Director
The Captive
Director
The Unafraid
Director
The Warrens of Virginia
Director
After Five
Director
- 1914
The Ghost Breaker
Director
The Rose of the Rancho
Director
The Man From Home
Director
What's His Name
Director
The Virginian
Director
The Call of the North
Director
The Only Son
Director
The Master Mind
Director
Brewster's Millions
Director
Produced 61
1950s
- 1958
The Buccaneer
Executive Producer, Producer
- 1956
- 1953
- 1952
1940s
- 1949
- 1947
- 1944
- 1942
- 1940
1930s
- 1939
- 1938
The Buccaneer
Producer
- 1936
- 1934
Cleopatra
Producer
Four Frightened People
Producer
- 1933
This Day and Age
Producer
- 1932
- 1930
1920s
- 1928
Let 'Er Go Gallegher
Executive Producer
- 1927
The Angel of Broadway
Producer
The Fighting Eagle
Producer
Vanity
Producer
White Gold
Producer
- 1926
The Cruise of the Jasper B
Producer
The Volga Boatman
Producer
Silence
Producer
Whispering Smith
Producer
- 1925
The Wedding Song
Producer
The Dressmaker from Paris
Supervising Producer
- 1924
Feet of Clay
Producer
Triumph
Producer
- 1923
Adam's Rib
Producer
- 1922
Saturday Night
Producer
- 1921
Forbidden Fruit
Producer
- 1920
Something to Think About
Producer
Why Change Your Wife?
Producer
1910s
- 1919
Male and Female
Producer
- 1918
Old Wives for New
Producer
- 1917
The Woman God Forgot
Producer
The Little American
Producer
A Romance of the Redwoods
Producer
Lost and Won
Producer
Betty to the Rescue
General Manager
- 1916
Joan the Woman
Producer
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
Producer
- 1915
The Golden Chance
Producer
Chimmie Fadden Out West
Producer
Carmen
Producer
Chimmie Fadden
Producer
The Arab
Producer
The Captive
Producer
The Warrens of Virginia
Producer
- 1914
The Ghost Breaker
Producer
The Man From Home
Producer
What's His Name
Producer
Brewster's Millions
Producer
Wrote 19
1920s
- 1921
Forbidden Fruit
Story
1910s
- 1917
The Little American
Writer
A Romance of the Redwoods
Writer
- 1916
The Love Mask
Writer
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
Story
- 1915
The Golden Chance
Story
Chimmie Fadden Out West
Writer
Chimmie Fadden
Writer
The Arab
Writer
The Captive
Writer
The Unafraid
Story
- 1914
The Ghost Breaker
Writer
The Circus Man
Writer
The Rose of the Rancho
Writer
The Man From Home
Writer
Ready Money
Writer
What's His Name
Writer
Edited 19
1930s
- 1939
Land of Liberty
Editor
1910s
- 1918
We Can't Have Everything
Editor
Old Wives for New
Editor
- 1917
The Woman God Forgot
Editor
The Little American
Editor
A Romance of the Redwoods
Editor
- 1916
Joan the Woman
Editor
- 1915
The Golden Chance
Editor
Temptation
Editor
Chimmie Fadden Out West
Editor
Carmen
Editor
Chimmie Fadden
Editor
The Captive
Editor
- 1914
The Rose of the Rancho
Editor
The Man From Home
Editor
What's His Name
Editor
The Virginian
Editor
Acted in 14
1990s
- 1995
The Casting Couch
Movie
1950s
- 1958
The Buccaneer
Presenter of Prologue
- 1957
The Buster Keaton Story
Cecil B. DeMille (uncredited)
- 1952
- 1950
1940s
- 1947
Variety Girl
Cecil B. DeMille
- 1944
- 1942
Star Spangled Rhythm
Cecil B. DeMille
1930s
- 1935
Hollywood Extra Girl
Cecil B. DeMille
- 1930
Free and Easy
Director Cecil B. DeMille (uncredited)
1920s
- 1923
Hollywood
Cecil B. DeMille
1910s
- 1914
Other crew 1
1920s
- 1926
Red Dice
Presenter
Appearances38
2020s
- 2022
- 2021
Indiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
- 2020
Yul Brynner, the Magnificent
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle II
Self
Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle
Self (archive footage)
2010s
- 2019
Sword-and-Sandal: The Story of the Period Epic
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
- 2016
The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille
Self
- 2012
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
Self (archive footage)
2000s
- 2007
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
Self (archive footage)
- 2003
1980s
- 1984
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Self (archive footage)
- 1983
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1982
Showbiz Ballyhoo
Self (archive footage)
- 1980
Hollywood
Self (archive footage, uncredited) · 1 episode
1970s
- 1976
Hooray for Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
- 1975
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self (archive footage)
- 1974
1950s
- 1956
- 1952
The Fallbrook Story
Self, Introduction
- 1950
1940s
- 1949
- 1948
- 1947
Jens Mons in America
Self (uncredited)
- 1945
Screen Snapshots (Series 25, No. 1): 25th Anniversary
Self
- 1942
Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)
Self
- 1940
1930s
- 1939
The Movies March On
Self (archive footage)
- 1933
Hollywood on Parade No. B-5
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1930
Estrellados
Self (Guest Appearance)
1920s
- 1928
The Circus: Premiere
Self
- 1927
Life in Hollywood No. 1
Self
Life in Hollywood
Self
- 1922
A Trip to Paramountown
Self