Why Cecil B. DeMille Be Famous?
-
Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Cecil B. DeMille
Devastation_HCT — 21 years ago(August 05, 2004 12:56 PM)
I heard his name very often, I know he directed/produced a lot of movies, but I don't know why his name is so famous. Could somebody explain that to me?
Tnx -
narnia4 — 18 years ago(January 27, 2008 08:01 PM)
Lux Radio Theatre was great. It had lots of famous actors, and since it wasn't visual (duh, it's radio) you NEEDED a good plot and good dialogue to be sucessful.
ONe of my favorite old-time radio programs (Suspense was my favorite). -
csu16387 — 21 years ago(August 09, 2004 05:23 AM)
Well, not only because of the amount of films he directed and produced (including The Ten Commandments and The Greatest Show on Earth), but because the lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes is named after him. The Cecil B. DeMille Award is given out every year to legendary actors, actresses, and directors.
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." -
dcurry-1 — 21 years ago(August 09, 2004 05:31 AM)
Here are some reasons:
He championed the switch from short to feature-length films and is often credited with making Hollywood the motion picture capital of the world. Rather than putting his money into known stars he emphasized production values.
He also developed stars, notably Gloria Swanson. He produced and directed 70 films and was involved in many more.
Many of his films were romantic sexual comedies (he is supposed to have believed that Americans were curious only about money and sex). His best-known were biblical epics: King of Kings, The Ten Commandments, The (1923) Crusades.
From 1936 to 1945 he hosted and directed the hour-long "Lux Radio Theatre", which brought the actors and stories of many movies to the airwaves and further established him as the symbol of Hollywood.
One of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) -
swagner2001 — 21 years ago(December 29, 2004 09:58 AM)
He was the most successful filmmaker EVER - until Spielberg came along
Fantastic website all about DeMille:
http://www.cecilbdemille.com/ -
marcin_kukuczka — 21 years ago(March 21, 2005 08:38 AM)
He is still famous and will be for a long time from now on because of his incredible talent and an everlasting impact on the cinema that he left. His films were not only stately but they were really powerful and most of them have stood the test of time. The most famous are THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (1950s) and CLEOPATRA (1934).
DeMille was also the propagator of faith and he was, in fact, the first great director who has produced religious epics, including his KING OF KINGS (1927); TEN COMMANDMENTS (1924) AND REMAKE (1956), probably the most famous film about Moses till now; THE SIGN OF THE CROSS (1932) about Christianity spreading within the cruel reign of Nero (Charles Laughton); and CRUSADES (1935).
It is after DeMille that other directors made biblical and religious epics, including Franco Zeffirelli and recently Mel Gibson.
By the way, even Martin Scorsese referred to Cecil B DeMille in his latest AVIATOR (2004).
Cinema is a good way of escaping from problems and sorrows of the world. -
All_Seeing_I — 19 years ago(April 10, 2006 05:37 PM)
"And he's a character in Sunset Blvd."
Or, slightly more accurately, that the last line, "I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille", is familliar to nearly everyone, even if they can't remember where it's from.
Or not, depending on how you look at it -
BoMar5353 — 18 years ago(April 15, 2007 11:26 PM)
People need to check the records, interviews, quotes, etc. of the actors who actually worked with him to find out if he was as "GREAT" a director as his publicists claimed. His politics weren't too hot either unless you're a fan of the German National Socialist Party.
-
raphael65 — 18 years ago(April 30, 2007 08:12 AM)
Some (but not all) evidence clearly suggests that he was a bit of a tyrant; however, he has his admirers, one of whom is myself. To say that his films are overblown and melodramatic is tantamount to denigrating the works and style of such great 17th and early 18th-century French painters as Nicolas Poussin and Jacques-Louis David not to mention the magnificent book illustrator, Gustave Dore, whose marvellously detailed engravings graced such works of literature as PARADISE LOST, DON QUIXOTE, and, of course, the Bible.
All these artists depicted figures in highly mannered poses very appropriate when depicting epic scenes. DeMille was greatly influenced by such artists (especially Dore), whose influence can be seen in many beautifully framed scenes in "The Ten Commandments." The subject matter of The Book of Exodus and the life of Moses in general is epic in scope, and thus deserves an epic treatment, for which DeMille was eminently capable. Sometimes subtlety is not appropriate. -
filmklassik — 15 years ago(April 04, 2011 04:04 AM)
Had no idea that DeMille was a Nazi since he was so patriotic and America, you may remember, was at war with the Nazis. Are you for real suggesting that DeMille was rooting for the Nazis to defeat America during World War 2?
Please, if you can (and you probably cannot) take a few moments and clarify your post. Thanks. -
cwente2 — 14 years ago(October 20, 2011 06:55 AM)
Of course DeMille wasn't a Nazi. The poster suggesting it is, in all probability, a Leftist and DeMille's politics were decidedly to the Right. Leftists are congenitally disposed toward labeling the opposition "Nazis" (among other things).
-
mikeoak840 — 18 years ago(March 19, 2008 11:32 AM)
To get to this page, you had to go to the page of Cecil B. DeMille's credits. How can you look at the volume of films he produced, directed and wrote, and then wonder why he's famous? Quite simply, he's one of the giants in cin238ema for decades.