Cecil B. DeMille (1881 - 1959)
Related: American cinema - silent film
Cleopatra (1934) - Cecil B. DeMille
Biography
Cecil Blount DeMille (August 12, 1881 - January 21, 1959) was one of the most successful filmmakers during the first half of the 20th century. He directed hundreds of silent shorts before coming into huge popularity during the 1920s, when he reached the apex of his popularity with such films as Don't Change Your Husband (1919), The Ten Commandments (1923), and The King of Kings (1927). Though most commonly referred to by the press as DeMille with a capital "D", deMille preferred and even signed his checks as "deMille" with a small "d". DeMille's business address for most of his career was 2010 DeMille (capital "D") Drive, Hollywood, California. In either case, the persona of the larger than life showman was reinforced by such affectations and his status as an icon thrived. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_B._DeMille [Apr 2005]The first mainstream films
The first mainstream films overflowed with sex. Examples included "exposes" of white slavery like Traffic in Souls (1913) to epics that featured Christians lashed at the stake (Cecil B. De Mille's Sign of the Cross) and orgies (Erich von Stroheim's The Merry Widow and The Wedding March). But within a decade of prohibition of alcohol, came prohibition of sin in cinema. --http://www.tranquileye.com/historyofporn/early_porn.html [Sept 2004]Male and Female (1919)
Male and Female (1919) included Gloria Swanson's notorious, half-clad disrobing scene in preparation for a lavish bath in a sunken tubMadam Satan (1930)
Madam Satan (1930) - Cecil B. DeMille
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Image sourced here.
Actress Kay Johnson starred as a wicked woman in Cecil B. De Mille's bizarre Madam Satan (1930) - a film that challenged the code with a racy party sequence aboard a zeppelin
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