The spectacles of Cecil B. DeMille
Left: Cecil B. DeMille during location filming for his 1956 remake of "The Ten Commandments."
He was the very definition of a big-time Hollywood filmmaker, who helped invent the big-budget epic. Cecil B. DeMille directed and/or produced more than 70 movies in a career that spanned more than four decades, and is remembered for such spectacles as "The Ten Commandments," "King of Kings," "Cleopatra," and the Oscar-winning "The Greatest Show on Earth."
"Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic" (Running Press), a new book, co-written by DeMille's granddaughter, explores the artistry behind his movie legacy.
On Set
Cecil B. DeMille with his granddaughter, Cecilia, on the set of "Samson and Delilah."
"He was kind of like a modern day Medici," she told CBS News' Rita Braver. "He surrounded himself with the people that he thought had great drama and great talent and let them go."
DeMille was unsuccessful in his early pursuits of a career as an actor, writer and producer on the stage. "Nothing seemed to stick, nothing seemed to work," said film historian Mark Vieira. "At age 33 he was just kind of this fifth wheel for everybody."
Then, the movies came calling.
"The Squaw Man"
DeMille's lucky break came when Jesse Lasky and Samuel Goldfish (a.k.a. Samuel Goldwyn) - two friends who were building a motion picture company - asked DeMille to head west and make a feature film, "The Squaw Man" (1914).
It was the story of an English aristocrat (Dustin Farnum) who comes to America and falls in love with a Native American woman (Red Wing). "Very racy" for the time, said Mark Vieira.
"Male and Female"
A publicity still of Gloria Swanson from the Cecil B. DeMille film, "Male and Female" (1919), about a shipload of British aristocrats and servants shipwrecked on an island, where class roles are dispensed with during their struggle to survive.
"Male and Female"
In a fantasy sequence, Gloria Swanson, as Lady Mary Lasenby, poses with a lion in photographer Karl Struss' takeoff of the Gabriel von Max painting, "The Lion's Bride."
"The Ten Commandments"
Director Cecil B. DeMille with Charles de Rochefort as Ramses in "The Ten Commandments" (1923).
His Biblical epic actually told two stories - one set in ancient Egypt, of Moses and the exodus of the Israelites; and a modern-tale tale of men breaking the very commandments handed down by Moses.
"The Ten Commandments"
Moses (Theodore Roberts) leads his people through the parted waters of the Red Sea in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" (1923).
"King of Kings"
"King of Kings" (1927), starring H.W. Warner as Jesus, was Cecil B. DeMille's last silent film.
"Madam Satan"
"Who wants to go to hell with Madam Satan!"
Kay Johnson attends a masquerade ball held in a zeppelin above New York City in the musical comedy "Madam Satan" (1930). The party ends abruptly when lightning strikes the dirigible, forcing the partygoers to parachute to safety.
The New York Times reviewer called the film "a strange conglomeration of unreal incidents."
"The Sign of the Cross"
Charles Laughton as the Emperor Nero watches as Rome burns in "The Sign of the Cross" (1932). The forced perspective shot used burning miniatures at the Paramount ranch.
"Cleopatra"
Cecil B. Demille directing Claudette Colbert on the set of "Cleopatra" (1934).
"Cleopatra"
An uncredited concept painting for "Cleopatra."
"Cleopatra"
Concept art for the setting of the barge sequence in "Cleopatra."
"Cleopatra"
An erotic sequence from Cecil B. DeMille's "Cleopatra" (1934).
Joseph Breen, the censor who made sure studio films adhered to the Production Code, had his knives out for DeMille's epic, as it featured what he categorized as "glamorous sin-women." Among the items cut was a bull dance scene that, Breen said, contained movements suggesting "unnatural practices with beasts."
In an editorial for Film Daily, DeMille wrote, "Motion pictures cannot be made without sex. Take it away from films and you take away your very life."
Whatever Breen cut, there was still enough to attract audiences: "Cleopatra" was one of the director's biggest hits ever.
"The Crusades"
A Harold Mile concept painting for Cecil B. DeMille's medieval epic, "The Crusades" (1935), which he made in part to placate the head of the Production Code office.
"The Crusades"
Loretta Young as Berengaria, Princess of Navarre (with Alan Hale) in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Crusades." Costumes by Travis Banton.
"The Plainsman"
A Dan Sayre Groesbeck concept painting for "The Plainsman" (1936).
DeMille looked to the works of Frederic Remington as inspiration for his Western tale, featuring such larger-than-life figures as Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody, Calamity Jane and Gen. George Custer.
"The Plainsman"
Gary Cooper as Wild Bill Hickok and Jean Arthur as Calamity Jane in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Plainsman" (1936).
It was the first of four films that Cooper did with DeMille, including "North West Mounted Police," "The Story of Dr. Wassell," and "Unconquered."
"The Buccaneer"
Fredric March (far right) starred as pirate Jean LaFitte in Cecil B. DeMille's tale of the War of 1812, "The Buccaneer" (1938). The film co-starred Anthony Quinn (far left).
Twenty years later, DeMille served as executive producer for Paramount's color remake, which starred Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner as LaFitte. Directing the remake: Anthony Quinn, who at the time was married to DeMille's adopted daughter, actress Katherine DeMille.
"Union Pacific"
Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Robert Preston and Brian Donlevy starred in DeMille's big-budget Western, "Union Pacific" (1939), about the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. Naturally, there's a train wreck, Indian attacks, and a torrid love triangle, by the time the golden spike is driven into the rails at Promontory Summit, Utah.
"North West Mounted Police"
Akim Tamiroff, Gary Cooper and Preston Foster in "North West Mounted Police" (1940), Cecil B. Demille's first full-color film.
"Reap the Wild Wind"
In "Reap the Wild Wind" (1942), starring Ray Milland and John Wayne, two rival companies seek to salvage the cargo of sunken ships off Florida. And watch out for the giant octopus!
"Unconquered"
A Dan Sayre Groesbeck painting for "Unconquered" (1947), Cecil B. DeMille's tale of slavery, Indian uprisings and the burgeoning Colonial frontier in pre-Revolutionary America. The film starred Gary Cooper and Paulette Goddard.
"Samson and Delilah"
According to DeMille, this Dan Sayre Groesbeck illustration is what sold Paramount on the Biblical epic "Samson and Delilah," released in 1949. It starred Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature.
"Samson and Delilah"
Storyboards for Cecil B. DeMille's "Samson and Delilah" (1949).
"Samson and Delilah"
Victor Mature as Samson in "Samson and Delilah" (1949).
"Samson and Delilah"
Special effects master Gordon Jennings created the scene of Samson bringing down the temple, using an eight-foot miniature.
"Sunset Boulevard"
One of the most recognizable showmen of the movies, Cecil B. DeMille played himself in Billy Wilder's caustic Hollywood tale "Sunset Boulevard" (1950), in which Norma Desmond (played by one of DeMille's biggest stars, Gloria Swanson) visits the Paramount lot to inquire about her role in his next picture.
"The Greatest Show on Earth"
Concept art for Cecil B. DeMille's "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952).
In the summer of 1949 the director and his granddaughter, screenwriter Fredric Frank and several others traveled with Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, where they soaked up stories and incidents of circus folk, before setting to the task of creating a motion picture that captured the drama and spectacle of "the greatest show on Earth."
"The Greatest Show on Earth"
John Jensen's concept art for Cornel Wilde's character, "The Great Sebastian," from "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1952).
"The Greatest Show on Earth"
The aftermath of the catastrophic train wreck sequence, from "The Greatest Show on Earth."
Academy Awards
Producer Cecil B. DeMille, winner of the Best Picture Oscar for "The Greatest Show on Earth," poses with Gloria Grahame (Best Supporting Actress Oscar-winner for "The Bad and the Beautiful").
"The Ten Commandments"
For Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 remake of "The Ten Commandments," John Jensen created this concept painting of Pharoah Sethi's throne room.
"The Ten Commandments"
Charlton Heston as Moses, photographed during location shooting of Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments."
"The Ten Commandments"
Charlton Heston as Moses in Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments."
"The Ten Commandments"
A "cast of thousands" was employed during location filming in Egypt.
During the grueling weeks of shooting in Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, DeMille suffered what doctors diagnosed as an "acute coronary thrombosis," but he continued working nonetheless.
"I would rather be a dead director on the set than a live director in an oxygen tent," he was quoted as saying in Life Magazine.
"The Ten Commandments"
Moses leads the freed slaves out of bondage (portrayed by an estimated 6,000-8,000 extras) in "The Ten Commandments" (1956).
It was the last film DeMille directed, and his most successful.
The Oscar-winner died in 1959 at age 77.
"The Art of the Hollywood Epic"
For more info:
"Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic" by Cecilia DeMille Presley and Mark A. Vieira; Also available in eBook format (Running Press)
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