YES, MR.DEMILLE (1959)

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1. IN the move to his own studio, fate assigned DeMille a unique mission. He came under tlie influence of Jeremiah Milbank. Milbank's distaste for publicity went as deep as DeMille's re- liance upon it. The New York financier was extremely spiritual, a curiosity in a land of revelry. From this association came the shining jewel of DeMille's career, The King of Kings. Though universally acclaimed as Cecil B. DeMille's King of Kings, a proper enough designation, the picture owed an enor- mous debt to the quiet fervor of Milbank. Because Milbank somehow managed to keep out of the Hollywood columns, it was known by few that his money was behind the venture. Today the narrative of the Christ life is still his property, handled by the Milbank-owned Cinema Corporation of Pater- son, New Jersey, a firm whose chief function is to guide this remarkable film in its admission-free odyssey over the world. The stage was set. DeMille had displayed marvelous .pre- science. The Ten Commandments, he had been told, would probably destroy the studio. It did not; on the contrary it made an outstanding profit. Having quelled the suicidal cries of his associates, his judgment in matters Biblical now took the shape of something to be revered and sought after. He had made costume drama pay off at a time when few producers would risk their money even on "safer" pictures of later vintage. He 115