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De Mille wears a mask. He is a man behind a curtain. When he plays he does it mostly upon his schooner yacht Seaward, shown in the circle. When he works, Jennie MacPherson, pictured below, is his chief aid.
Mille, productions lack a soul? Because —
Surrounded by Satellites
Mille is surrounded by a set of satellites. They are the little extra girls who thrill over his "marvelous" sets. They are his actors who, stupid themselves, hang upon his every word. They are his publicity men who meekly write down everything he says and give it to the public. All this probably makes him seem more vain than he really is. In his heart of hearts he must have a disgust for this sort of thing and he must know that it is false. He must know he is posing, but he feels called upon to impress his co-workers. He tries to impress his interviewers and his public.
But the public is tired of it. The public wants something real from the man. It wants to know the man who lives behind the strange, oddly analytical eyes. To De Mille pictures have been a tin16
selly inferior work which has made him money.
He has played with the world. He has thought that he could get by with giving the public views of a sham phase of life created from his own imaginations.
A Peacock without a Voice
e Mille may be likened to the gorgeous peacock who lacks a singing voice. And it's time for De Mille to sing.
Will The Ten Commandments atone for De Mille's sins against the photoplay — and life?
Has De Mille seen the handwriting on the screen? One thing is sure about The Ten Commandments. De Mille believes he has a big production. He believes he is making the biggest thing ever created in celluloid. And, if reports are right, he believes there is more than a touch of inspiration in it.
And yet this may be just the De Mille pose again. Who can tell ? De Mille looks upon himself as the chosen director. To him has fallen the lot of filming a Biblical message. He — and he alone — is to bring comfort and education to millions. And this will be the De Mille message as he sees it :
De Mille's Fancied Message
ou do not break the ten commandments ; they break you. Moses' laws have been neglected through ignorance and pride and bigotry. The screen, via De Mille, will set people right. De Mille says, in substance, that he started to film the ten commandments thinking of their dramatic possibilities but that he has come to realize his responsibilities. He is — he says — awed to the heart. He believes that the Lord is with him. In a flippant way he speaks of the remarkable run of "luck" he has had during the making of the picture — but he speaks of it. ( Continued on page 95)