Cecil Blount DeMille was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most commercially successful producer-director in film history with many of them dominating the box office three or four at a time. His films were distinguished by their epic scale and by his cinematic showmanship. His silent films included social dramas, comedies, Westerns, farces, morality plays, and historical pageants. He was an active Freemason and member of Prince of Orange Lodge #16 in New York City.
The Cheat is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Fannie Ward, Sessue Hayakawa, and Jack Dean, Ward's real-life husband.
Victor Fred Moore was an American actor of stage and screen, a major Broadway star from the late 1920s through the 1930s. He was also a writer and director, but is best remembered today as a comedian, playing timid, mild-mannered roles. Today's audiences know him as the star of a Christmas-themed movie that has become a perennial: It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947). Moore plays a vagrant who occupies a millionaire's mansion—without the millionaire's knowledge—while the owner is vacationing.
The Volga Boatman is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, who reportedly said the film was, "his greatest achievement in picture making". The film's budget was $479,000 and it grossed $1.27 million. The film was highly successful, turning William Boyd into matinee idol overnight.
The Virginian is a 1914 American silent Western film based on the 1902 novel The Virginian by Owen Wister. The film was adapted from the successful 1903–04 theatre play The Virginian, on which Wister had collaborated with playwright Kirke La Shelle. The Virginian starred Dustin Farnum in the title role, a role he reprised from the original play. It was directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
The Squaw Man is a 1931 American pre-Code Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It was his third time filming the same play but the first in sound. It stars Warner Baxter in the leading role.
Brewster's Millions is a 1914 American comedy film directed by Oscar Apfel and Cecil B. DeMille and starring Edward Abeles. It is an adaptation of the 1902 novel written by George Barr McCutcheon. The novel had also been turned into a successful 1906 Broadway play of the same name that also starred Edward Abeles. Abeles's success in the play led to his being cast in this film.
Rose of the Rancho is a 1914 American silent Western film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is based upon the play of the same name by David Belasco and Richard Walton Tully. The film cost $16,988 to make, and grossed $87,028.
The Captive is an American silent-era film released on April 22, 1915. It was released on five reels. The film was written, directed, edited, and produced by Cecil B. DeMille. Jesse L. Lasky was another producer and Jeanie MacPherson worked with DeMille to write the screenplay. The film is based on a play written by Cecil B. DeMille and Jeanie MacPherson. The Captive grossed over $56,000 on a budget of $12,154. Blanche Sweet stars as Sonia Martinovich, alongside House Peters who stars as Mahmud Hassan. The film details the romantic war-era plight of Sonia and her lover Mahmud.
The Wild Goose Chase is a 1915 American comedy-drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film was written by DeMille's brother William and starred Ina Claire. The Wild Goose Chase is now considered a lost film.
Chimmie Fadden Out West is a 1915 American silent Western comedy film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It was made as a sequel to Chimmie Fadden.
Temptation is a 1915 American silent romantic drama film directed and produced by Cecil B. DeMille. The film starred Geraldine Farrar and Theodore Roberts and was written by and based on an original story by Hector Turnbull. Additional writing was done by DeMille and Jeanie MacPherson, who did not receive screen credit.
Don't Change Your Husband is a 1919 American silent comedy film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Gloria Swanson. The film was the third of six "marriage films" directed by DeMille and the first DeMille film starring Gloria Swanson. A Chinese silent film, Don't Change Your Husband (1929), used the same English title, and a similar plot arc.
Something to Think About is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film stars Elliott Dexter and Gloria Swanson.
Saturday Night is a 1922 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Leatrice Joy, Conrad Nagel, and Edith Roberts. It was Leatrice Joy's first film with DeMille.
Feet of Clay is a 1924 American silent drama film directed and produced by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Vera Reynolds and Rod La Rocque, and with set design by Norman Bel Geddes. The film is based on the 1923 novel by Margaretta Tuttle, and Beulah Marie Dix's one-act 1915 play Across the Border.
Down Home is a 1920 American silent drama film written, directed, and produced by Irvin Willat and starring Leatrice Joy and James Barrows. It was distributed by the independent film distributor W. W. Hodkinson. A copy survives at the Library of Congress.
Matilda Beatrice deMille was an English-American play broker, screenwriter, playwright, theater actress and entrepreneur. She had a part in founding Paramount Pictures. Her sons were pioneering filmmakers Cecil B. DeMille and William C. deMille.
Florence Dagmar Oberg was an American silent film actress. She had several leading roles and worked for the Famous Players–Lasky film company, appearing at least twice with Thomas Meighan and Victor Moore while being directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
Camille Astor was an American actress in silent films.
