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His Ten Commandments, King of Kings and Reap the Wild Wind are among the biggest moneymakers in movie history; King of Kings is still going strong, on parish-house screens. For three decades DeMille's name has been loosely used as shorthand for fustian and splendiferous vulgarity. Because he is an artist in ham, his artistry has sometimes not been widely enough appreciated. Yet many a longhaired critic has recognized his cinematic talent.
DeMille still does his job, as he always has, in a royal style. Wherever he goes on the set, one man follows to whip a chair under him, another to shove a mike in front of him, while a secretary devotedly notes down every word he says. He has often been laughed at for his historical inaccuracies;* actually he has a great interest in research and knows how to use it.
"People may say I'm lavish," says DeMille, "but they can't say I'm wasteful." As a picturemaker, he is not wasteful. He allows very little film to die on the cutting-room floor. Moreover, he is efficient —and effective at the box office—in proportion to his lavishness. A nonlavish DeMille is not DeMille. A medium-budget picture (Four Frightened People) was one of his few flops.
Next spectacle: Samson & Delilah.
-*One annoymous verse read: Cecil B. DeMille, Much against his will, Was persuaded to keep Moses Out of the Wars of the Roses.