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1[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cecil_b_demille.jpeg]]
2[[caption-width-right:320:"[[Film/SunsetBoulevard All right, Mr. [=DeMille=], I'm ready for my close-up.]]"]]
3
4->''"Well, it got so that every piss-ant prairie punk who thought he could shoot a gun would ride into town to try out the Waco Kid. I must have killed more men than Cecil B. [=DeMille=]."''
5-->-- '''[[RetiredGunfighter The Waco Kid]]''', ''Film/BlazingSaddles''
6
7Cecil Blount [=DeMille=] (August 12, 1881 — January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker during UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood, whose name has become synonymous with extravagant {{Epic Movie}}s.
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9His best-known production, the 1956 version of ''Film/{{The Ten Commandments|1956}}'' (a SelfRemake of [[Film/TheTenCommandments1923 his own 1923 silent film]]) that made a star out of Creator/CharltonHeston, illustrates the film qualities [=DeMille=] is famous for. Massive sets, extras by the thousands, and scenes guaranteed to leave audiences' jaws on the floor. To this day, Moses's parting of the Red Sea remains an incredible piece of cinematography. Charlton Heston later wrote of [=DeMille=] in his autobiography ''In The Arena'': "I should have thanked him for my career."
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11Considered the poster boy for [[PrimadonnaDirector tyrannical directors]] (a reputation that was rather blown out of proportion when in truth [=DeMille=] was nowhere near as bad as someone like Creator/DavidLean), [=DeMille=], who saw himself as a responsible father or teacher presiding over a household when it came to the cast and crew of his films and saw everyone as his "children" or students who had certain "chores" they had to do, did not tolerate fools gladly and despised actors who weren't willing to take risks for their art, as was the case with leading man Creator/VictorMature on 1949's ''Film/{{Samson and Delilah|1949}}''. Despite his large, burly physique Mature was revealed to be a man of many fears and phobias - not only did he refuse to wrestle a perfectly tame, toothless lion, but he also ran away when a giant wind fan malfunctioned during the scene where Samson killed the Philistine army with "the jawbone of an ass" (donkey) and hid in his dressing room, cowering in fear. This angered [=DeMille=] so much that he got on his speakerphone and declared to the entire cast and crew that Mature was "100% yellow."
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13Not considered a great director of actors, [=DeMille=] excelled at directing and coordinating large crowds of extras during epic scenes while he relied on an unofficial stock company of actors, such as long-time collaborator Henry Wilcoxon, who knew how to give him what he wanted without needing much guidance.
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15The cartoon image of a movie director (a guy in a beret, sunglasses, and riding boots carrying a cigar or riding crop in one hand and a megaphone in the other, e.g. the director in the 2007 ''Ballet Shoes'') was originally a reference to [=DeMille's=] odd taste in work clothes. The monocle was also sometimes depicted as an affectation of both Creator/FritzLang (who also smoked with a cigarette holder) and Creator/ErichVonStroheim, but not [=DeMille=].
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17[=DeMille=] had a particular taste for costume design, and was called upon to design the [[MilitaryAcademy U.S. Air Force Academy]]'s cadet uniforms. The design is still used.
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19He appeared AsHimself in several Paramount films: ''Star Spangled Rhythm'', ''Variety Girl'', ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'' and ''The Buster Keaton Story''. For several years he moonlighted as the producer and on-air host of the ''Radio/LuxRadioTheatre'' show.
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21Today his name is invoked whenever anyone refers to a motion picture whose production values go way over the top.
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23He was also one of the first directors to mix religion and eroticism in his movies. He would display sensational scenes of debauchery and then punish the perpetrators in order to have them pay for their sins.
24
25----
26!!(Very) Partial list of films directed by [=DeMille=]:
27[[index]]
28* ''Film/TheSquawMan'' (1914, 1918 and 1931)
29* ''The Virginian'' (1914)
30* ''The Girl of the Golden West'' (1915)
31* ''The Captive'' (1915)
32* ''Carmen'' (1915)
33* ''Film/TheCheat'' (1915)
34* ''The Golden Chance'' (1915)
35* ''Joan the Woman'' (1916)
36* ''Forbidden Fruit'' (1921; remake of the aforementioned ''The Golden Chance'')
37* ''The Affairs of Anatol'' (1921)
38* ''Manslaughter'' (1922)
39* ''Film/{{The Ten Commandments|1923}}'' (1923)
40* ''Film/TheKingOfKings'' (1927)
41* ''Dynamite'' (1929)
42* ''Film/MadamSatan'' (1930)
43* ''The Sign of the Cross'' (1932)
44* ''This Day and Age'' (1933)
45* ''Four Frightened People'' (1934)
46* ''Film/{{Cleopatra|1934}}'' (1934)
47* ''The Crusades'' (1935)
48* ''The Plainsman'' (1936)
49* ''The Buccaneer'' (1938)
50* ''Film/UnionPacific'' (1939)
51* ''North West Mounted Police'' (1940)
52* ''Film/ReapTheWildWind'' (1942)
53* ''The Story of Dr. Wassell'' (1944)
54* ''Unconquered'' (1947)
55* ''Film/{{Samson and Delilah|1949}}'' (1949)
56* ''Film/TheGreatestShowOnEarth'' (1952)
57* ''Film/{{The Ten Commandments|1956}}'' (1956)
58[[/index]]

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