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Empire of Dreams: The Epic Life of Cecil B. DeMille
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The authoritative biography of the legendary director Cecil B. DeMille: “if this were a movie, it would get four stars, two thumbs up, and an A” ( The Dallas Morning News ).
• Hollywood history: Cecil B. DeMille was among the earliest filmmakers who discovered some of the biggest stars in film, including Gloria Swanson, Claudette Colbert, and later, Charlton Heston. DeMille’s greatest successes came with biblical spectacles, notably The Ten Commandments and King of Kings . When he finally won an Academy Award for best picture with The Greatest Show on Earth, he had been making films for forty years.
• A fully realized portrait : DeMille has often been reduced to a caricature: a hack who made empty epic spectacles, a right-winger and McCarthy supporter during the blacklist, and a tyrannical director who abused his actors. Eyman instead presents a balanced account of a remarkably rich life.
• An authoritative biography : Scott Eyman is the first biographer to have access to DeMille’s letters and other personal papers for publication. Eyman settles for nothing less than the real man, as he did in his biographies of John Ford and Louis B. Mayer. The result is a unique history of Hollywood’s earliest years and the rediscovery of a major filmmaker.
- Print length616 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherSimon & Schuster
- Publication dateSeptember 21, 2013
- Dimensions6.14 x 1.54 x 9.2 inches
- ISBN-100743289560
- ISBN-13978-0743289566
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About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Simon & Schuster
- Publication date : September 21, 2013
- Edition : Reprint
- Language : English
- Print length : 616 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0743289560
- ISBN-13 : 978-0743289566
- Item Weight : 1.54 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.14 x 1.54 x 9.2 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,329,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #229 in Individual Directors
- #387 in Movie Director Biographies
- #1,261 in Movie History & Criticism
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Scott Eyman has written fifteen books, three of them New York Times bestsellers, including John Wayne: The Life and Legend. His most recent book is Hank and Jim. He has been awarded the William K. Everson Award for Film History by the National Board of Review. He teaches film history at the University of Miami and lives in West Palm Beach with his wife, Lynn.
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