Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood [Hardcover]

Robert S. Birchard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 29, 2004

" ""Far and away the best film book published so far this year.""--National Board of Review Cecil B. DeMille was the most successful filmmaker in early Hollywood history. Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood is a detailed and definitive chronicle of the screen work that changed the course of film history and a fascinating look at how movies were actually made in Hollywood's Golden Age. Drawing extensively on DeMille's personal archives and other primary sources, Robert S. Birchard offers a revealing portrait of DeMille the filmmaker that goes behind studio gates and beyond DeMille's legendary persona. In his forty-five-year career DeMille's box-office record was unsurpassed, and his swaggering style established the public image for movie directors. DeMille had a profound impact on the way movies tell stories and brought greater attention to the elements of decor, lighting, and cinematography. Best remembered today for screen spectacles such as The Ten Commandments and Samson and Delilah, DeMille also created Westerns, realistic "chamber dramas," and a series of daring and highly influential social comedies. He set the standard for Hollywood filmmakers and demanded absolute devotion to his creative vision from his writers, artists, actors, and technicians.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Hollywood Heritage Newsletter Birchard, an award-winning film editor and historian, provides 70 short essays focusing on the films made by DeMille during his five decades in Hollywood.... Will make a welcome addition to film history libraries." -- Journal of the West

"It's a fascinating insight into the inner workings of DeMille's seventy films with such a wealth of evidence and the kind of precision that gives the reader real confidence in the trustworthiness of what they are being told. And whilst no-one will ever be able to capture everything about Cecil Blount DeMille within the pages of a mere book, "Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood" is certainly an admirable attempt." -- Bible Films Blog

"It's a fascinating insight into the inner workings of DeMille's seventy films with such a wealth of evidence and the kind of precision that gives the reader real confidence in the trustworthiness of what they are being told." -- biblefilms.blogspot.com

From the Author

Robert S. Birchard, an award-winning film editor and film historian, is also the author of King Cowboy: Tom Mix and the Movies. His "In the Beginning" episode of the Discovery Channel’s Hollywood Chronicles series won a Silver Award at the Houston International Film Festival.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (June 29, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813123240
• ISBN-13: 978-0813123240
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #517,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hollywood's Epic Filmmaker, June 23, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood (Hardcover)

Before David Lean, before Michael Curtiz, and waaay before Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg, there was Cecil B. DeMille, the creator of gargantuan epics from Hollywood's Golden Age. C.B. started making movies the year that D.W. Griffith shot "The Birth of a Nation" and died when Steven Spielberg was a kid in Arizona, shooting home movies. In between, he wrote, produced, directed and acted in close to a hundred films

Today, of course, DeMille is remembered for "The Ten Commandments" and "The Greatest Show on Earth," but Demille was far more than that. The Great Man directed westerns and bedroom comedies, time travel adventures (in the silent days, no less), and even a musical.

Remarkably, most of Cecil B. DeMille's five decades of film work survive, and Robert Birchard has seen all fifty years worth, and written about each film in a lucid, graceful prose; Birchard has delivered a feast of information for anyone who's interested in the history of Hollywood. (Did you know that Charlton Heston, the star of "The Ten Commandments," was making less than Yul Brynner? Did you know that during the filming of C.B.'s FIRST "Ten Commandments" (a gargantuan hit in 1923) that the slaves who were supposedly sweltering in the Egyptian desert were actually extras on the central California coast FREEZING in chilly Spring weather, and who bundled themselves into coats as soon as the director yelled "Cut"? Mr. Birchard lets us in on the behind-the-scenes action on each of C.B's films (each movie has its own individual chapter), as well as when the films were shot, when they were released, what they cost and what they made at the box office.

This is a book for anyone who wants to know where American films have been...and how we got to where we are today.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book on an often over-looked director, August 20, 2004

By 

Bruce Calvert "silent movie collector" (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood (Hardcover)

Mention Cecil B. DeMille to many serious film fans, and they might snicker. DeMille has a reputation for corny, big-budget epics like THE TEN COMMANDMENTS or THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH. DeMille also has a reputation as a dictatorial director whose politics were extremely conservative.

DeMille was not really that simple of a person. He made some very personal films, some really entertaining films, and even some daring films for the time. Although he was politically conservative, several of his films preached the dangers of religious intolerance. His battle with the Radio performer's union was a matter of principle, and not money. And while the stereotypical Hollywood director was modeled on him, part of it was an act. DeMille had a great respect for his actors, as long as they were professional. DeMille also had a sense of humor, as some of his cameo appearances in films show.

Robert Birchard has assembled an incredible history of DeMille's film and radio work. DeMille was around during the birth of Paramount in 1915, and he was still a successful director all of the way through the 1950s. Using DeMille's original papers, telegrams from studio moguls like Jesse Lasky, and other direct sources of information.

You will read about DeMille's struggles with technical issues like poorly perforated film stock, cameramen, good and difficult actors, and pressure from management to get his films completed on time and under budget. Mr. Birchard has viewed all of DeMille's films that still exist, and he gives a candid review of all of them. The book also contains very detailed cast and crew listings, a list of DeMille's many cameo appearances, and everything is painstakingly documented in the end notes.

I can guarantee you that after reading this book, you will be very tempted to rent or buy a Cecil B. DeMille film and rediscover this master director yourself.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Excellent!, July 10, 2004

By 

Gordon Kent "GRK" (Pasadena, California USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood (Hardcover)

Though he hasn't made a movie since the 1950s, CB DeMille is still a name that says "Hollywood" to anyone who hears it. But, aside from The Ten Commandments, it's possible that most people today don't know who he was or what he did. Robert Birchard's book, written in a blithe, easy-going style -- as if you're talking to him -- reminds us who CB was and how important he was to the history of film. Using original sources as much as possible (rather than second and third hand accounts) Mr. Birchard has traced DeMille's career through his films, in the process seeing as many as are still available (sadly not all are). In doing so, he manages to trace much of DeMille's life and the life and history of Hollywood as it grows and learns to use new and better technology to tell its stories. This book is both easy to read, fun to read, and even (gasp!) informative! But don't let stop you from buying and enjoying it!