Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood

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by Robert S. Birchard and Cecilia DeMille Presley

Type

Biographies

Subject

Director > Cecil B. DeMille

Keywords

Cecil B. DeMille, director, american cinema

Publishing date

2021

Publisher

University Press of Kentucky

1st publishing

2004

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Paperback • 494 pages
6 x 9 inches (15 x 23 cm)

ISBN

978-0-8131-8051-9

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Book Presentation:
In Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood, Robert S. Birchard offers a detailed and definitive chronicle of the most successful filmmaker in early Hollywood history, going 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.

Drawing extensively on DeMille's personal archives and other primary sources, this biography provides a comprehensive and compelling portrait of how Cecil B. DeMille's work changed the course of film history, and a fascinating look at how movies were actually made in Hollywood's Golden Age.

About the authors:
Robert S. Birchard (1950-2016) was an award-winning film editor and film historian. His "In the Beginning" episode of the Discovery Channel's Hollywood Chronicles series, which he wrote and directed, received a Silver Award at the Houston International Film Festival. He also authored King Cowboy: Tom Mix and the Movies.

Press Reviews:
"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."―Bible Films Blog

"Far and away the best film book published so far this year."―National Board of Review

"Birchard has unearthed a treasure trove of details regarding DeMille's career, including the early history of Paramount Pictures that paralleled his own. What a valuable contribution to film scholarship!"―Leonard Maltin

"Solid, well-researched film history―the way it ought to be―refreshingly free of the jargon that has for so long demeaned our craft."―Kevin Brownlow, coproducer and director of Hollywood―The Pioneers and author of The Parade's Gone By

"A detailed study of DeMille's films, their production and reception, their profits and (occasional) losses. [Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood] provides insight into how Hollywood began."―Shepherd Express

"A fine example of a film historian looking again at the sources to reveal a more nuanced picture."―Cinema History Online

"Birchard's narrative is strengthened by his reliance upon primary sources in addition to DeMille's personal archives. This book is sure to be enjoyed by fans of early Hollywood and DeMille's many endeavors as a filmmaker."―Hometowns to Hollywood

"Whether you're a lifelong DeMille devotee or have never seen his work beyond an Easter screening of Ten Commandments, there is a real treasure trove of information packed into the book's 400 pages (don't forget the endnotes!)."―Hollywood North Magazine

"DeMille died in his home on January 31, 1959, his place in the pantheon of Hollywood greats assured. Birchard, in his informative book, gives him the credit he so richly deserves."―Sheldon Kirshner Journal

See the publisher website: University Press of Kentucky

See the complete filmography of Cecil B. DeMille on the website: IMDB ...