Hollywood Topics (Oct 1926-Feb 1927)

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THE THREE MR. DE MILLES Madeline Matzen Discovers Three Individual Personalities In This Noted Film Family THERE is, o£ course, Mr. William De Mille. Th.e maker of quiet romances and love stories of the middle-age for the screen. Then there is Mr. Cecil De Mille, who gave us glitter and sex, and sex and glitter on the screen. This Mr. De Mille is somewhat of a pasha, a man with a feudal complex who occasionally fancies himself the Nero of his particular vicinity. Then there is the THIRD Mr. De Mille, and I like this THIRD Mr. De Mille best of all. He is the least known of the De Milles, he is the OTHER Cecil De Mille. Th’s other Cecil De Mille is a quiet man, unpretentious and surveying life with kindly, tolerant eyes. I like to believe that the third Mr. De Mille is the one who is directing “The King of Kings.” This article is going to deal entirely with the two Cecil De Milles. To borow a phrase from my friend, Harry Langdon, “I feel it, but I don’t know whether I can exactly explain it!” this business of just who the third Mr. De Mille is. Let us go back a little — hack to the days when Cecil De Mille was a struggling, unrecognized playwright. Those were the days during which he besieged David Belasco’s office, the manuscript of Peter Grimm under his arm. In desperate want for money b.e finally sold the idea of Peter Grimm to Mr. Belasco for a small sum — and saw it produced as a Belasco play. He was given no credit for it. A situation like this is apt to make a cynic of any man. Then years passed rapidly, years during which Cecil rose to triumphant heights in the motion picture world. He grew rich .beyond b.ls wildest dreams, he became a personage, then a legend here in Hollywood. Stories, fantastic ones, crept out about him. Stories of magnificent parties that he gave, in the course of which the guests were presented with diamond trifles in the way of souvenirs. People told of his strolling on the set and tossing gold pieces to extras and property men whose work for the moment pleased him. When Gloria Swanson scintillated under his banner he became the great exponent of silken-sex photodramas, the Elinor Glyn of that time. His methods of making people act were autocratic — he raved and stormed at them, lashing them into a fury of emotion by means of vitriolic sarcasm. He spared no one in his efforts to gain an effect. On the other hand he was prodigally generous with everyone who worked for him and never asked any of his people to take a risk or do a dangerous thing in a picture that he did not first test and do himself. He developed and maintained the largest “Yes, Yes, Chorus” on the coast. His right hand man during these times was Jeanie McPherson. She wrote the scenarios which he directed— and whether she could write or not was a matter of opinion — but Mr. De Mille swore by her. Theodore Kosloff was his left hand man. Mr. Kosloff brought a certain barbaric sophistication with him from Russia; he was an excellent actor besides, and soon there crept into the silken dramas a note of savage color. The twinkle of Leatrice Joy ap1 eared in his screen plays, the gamin pertness of Julia Faye — and Mr. De Mille made money — great golden heaps of it, and still more money. Then one day, quite without warning, the THIRD Mr. De Mille made his appearance. In advertising widely for a new theme for a feature film, someone handed Mr. De Mille the idea of making a screen drama of the ten commandments. As he mulled the idea over the third Mr. De Mille walked in — and remained. I do not mean that Mr. De Mille suddenly “got religion” because he was studying the Bible and obliged to ponder over the ten commandments— no indeed! That would be stealing all the thunder of “The Miracle Man” and too much like fiction. I mean this — Mr. De Mille had been dealing with artificial emotions, living in a gilded haze and glitter with the tune of his trained chorus ever in his ears. Suddenly he was obliged to think — to think hard and dispassionately as he did in those old days when he starved trying to get a hearing on Broadway. After all, cynicism is just skin deep. Hard thinking splinters it and then the wind of humor blows it away. Something happened to Mr. De Mille’s cynicism — one g’impses it rarely these days. He BELIEVES he has a message to deliver and he is going to deliver it or die in the trying. He is going to film the story of the life of Christ. Not the whole story but the latter half of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. I believe that Mr. De Mille is secretly a little embarrassed by this third Mr. De Mille who walked in on him so unexpectedly and will not be ignored. For Mr. De Mille has the appearance of a man, these days, who talks with one eye over his shoulder to see if anyone is laughing at him. It’s hard to shake off the habit of years — and cynicism always fears ridicule. Perhaps, even before this appears in print, the famous “Yes Chorus” will have withered away from very shame beneath the scornful glance of the newcomer — the third Jdr. De Mille. Kindliness and tolerance may reign where temperament and pose held sway before. Every man must go through certain phases in life and Mr. De Mille — hand in hand with the third Mr. De Mille — is embarking upon the greatest phase of his rather astounding life. Long may he wave — this third Mr. De Mille! For he is a very REAL person. Rand Best De Mille Bet TWO years ago when Cecil De Mille left Paramount to organise his own production company he signed up a number of new girls whom he hoped to groom to future stardom, having already been responsible for the cinema success of such luminaries as Gloria Swanson, Babe Daniels and Leatrice Joy. Amorg this group of gir's was ’ittle Sally Rand, a dancer from the East, stranded in Hollywood, without a nickel, but with p’en v of good looks and ambition. Do Mills kept her in atmospheric roles for some time giving the other girls more important bits and par s to do, but the proof of her ability is that she is a featured De Mille player today whi'e all the other girls, save Majel Colman, have been released from their contracts. n