Scott Eyman's written a bunch of fantastic books but it's hard to see how he can top this one, an exhaustive and brilliant account of the life of one of the most famous directors of all time.
De Mille wasn't just a director, he was a celebrity (hosting his own radio show), and he was a genre. He was also hated by baby boomer film critics who dominated film criticism from the late 60s onwards and ensured his reputation went into eclipse while those of Hawks, Hitchcock, Nicholas Ray, etc shot up. This was in part because De Mille died in 1959 so wasn't around to do self promoting interviews to the boomers in the 60s like the others. But also because he was a right winger.
I started to re-appreciate the director after reading George MacDonald Fraser write about him so well in Hollywood History of the World. (Eyman quotes Fraser here). And rewatching his films you see there's lots more to De Mille than was commonly accepted in film buff circles.
His shoddy treatment by cineastes made me angry because reading this De Mille was such an influential figure in Hollywood - he helped create the place, shooting The Squaw Man, was clearly a gun director in his prime and artistically bold, especially in the 1920s (I've never seen these films but have read this from numerous sources). He enjoyed great success but had a dip in the late 20s and early 30s, before backing himself and recovering with The Sign of the Cross. Thereafter he became more a brand name and producer than top flight director, but the films are consistently strong. He was famous for spectacle but always understood the human story needed to be paramount.
Eyman points out that the main reason his reputation suffered was his anti-communism, particularly the famous DGA fight where he tried to kick out Joseph Mankiewicz. This story has been inflated - Eyman pulls it back into focus.
De Mille was a flawed man certainly - bit of a hypocrite, a bit rabid during the Cold War, while personally generous he loved to keep his income tax rates down. He was very nineteenth century - he had several long running mistresses but never left his wife, he was influenced by the theatre of David Belasco. He was skilled with publicity, story, acting and producing - he learnt his trade on the theatre circuit. He was a paterfamilias - running his movie company like an actor manager.
Eyman had access to De Mille's papers and there is superb insight into the man - notably his relationships with his brother William (smarter but less skilled) and mother (pushy and a spendthrift), his mistresses, his wife (Eyman's account of De Mille's final moments, holding his wife's hand - she had Alzheimer's and couldn't remember him - is very moving), his son in law Tony Quinn, his niece Agnes, his staff.
The book is excellent. It's thorough, well written, has true epic sweep but doesn't get lost. It's funny too - especially with De Mille's exasperation with Victor Mature on Samson and Delilah. It's surprising - Paulette Goddard kept trying to be cast in his films.
A fantastic book.
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