William C. deMille

Directing

William C. deMille

Born July 25, 1878 · Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Died March 5, 1955 · aged 76

William Churchill de Mille was the older brother of Hollywood legend Cecil B. DeMille (W.C. retained the family spelling of his name) and father of Tony Award-winning choreographer Agnes de Mille.

Known For

Passion FlowerPassion Flower · 1930
Passion Flower
5.41930
MovieDrama
A bored society woman invites scandal and heartache when she falls in love with her low-born chauffeur.
BraveheartBraveheart · 1925
Braveheart
7.01925
MovieWestern
Chief Standing Rock's tribe has a treaty protecting their fishing grounds, but a canning corporation is violating the treaty through intimidation and force. The tribe is divided as to how to handle the threat. Standing Rock's son, Braveheart, is sent to college to study law so that he can protect their rights, but others in the tribe, led by the hot-tempered Ki-Yote, want to provoke a more violent confrontation.
GrumpyGrumpy · 1923
Grumpy
8.01923
MovieComedyDrama
Andrew Bullivant, a retired lawyer known as "Grumpy" for his irascibility, calls on all his experience and powers of deduction to expose Chamberlin Jarvis as the thief of a valuable diamond being transported by Ernest Heron. A gardenia is the clue; and Virginia Bullivant, Ernest's sweetheart, is Jarvis' unwitting dupe.
Hashimura TogoHashimura Togo · 1917
Hashimura Togo
1917
MovieComedy
After an accusation of a breach of diplomacy committed by his brother, Hashimura Togo bears the burden and leaves Japan in disgrace for the United States where he enters the employ of Mrs. Reynolds as a butler. Togo discovers that Mrs. Reynolds' daughter Corinne is in love with Dr. Garland but is being coerced into marrying Carlos Anthony who, having seized all of her deceased father's funds, now promises to save the family from financial ruin in return for Corinne's hand in marriage. Enlisting the aid of a reporter, Hashimura succeeds in proving Anthony's deception in time to stop the marriage, freeing Corinne to marry Garland. After a series of misadventures, his name is cleared and Hashimura returns to his sweetheart in Japan.
StrongheartStrongheart · 1914
Strongheart
5.01914
MovieWesternAction
STRONGHEART (1914) is a Native American Indian drama. Based on a famous play of the time, the film features an all-star cast. Originally five reels, the film was reissued at three reels in 1916.
We Can't Have EverythingWe Can't Have Everything · 1918
We Can't Have Everything
1918
MovieComedyDrama
A married couple, each in love with another, attempts to unentangle themselves from their marriage in order to be with the one each truly loves. But the more they untangle one knot, the faster more confusing knots appear.
The Rose of the RanchoThe Rose of the Rancho · 1914
The Rose of the Rancho
4.01914
MovieRomanceWestern
Esra Kincaid takes land by force and, having taken the Espinoza land, his sights are set on the Castro rancho. Government agent Kearney holds him off till the cavalry shows up and he can declare his love for Juanita, called “the Rose of the Rancho.”
The SowersThe Sowers · 1916
The Sowers
1916
MovieDrama
Headed by a young nobleman, the Russian League of Freedom determines to free the peasants from oppression by the government. Prince Paul Alexis is in love with Karin Dolokhof, daughter of the chancellor. Both are working for the league. Shortly after they announce their engagement the prince receives word from the Czar that he must marry the Princess Tanya, for political reasons.

Movies

Passion FlowerPassion Flower · 1930
Passion Flower
5.41930
MovieDrama
A bored society woman invites scandal and heartache when she falls in love with her low-born chauffeur.
BraveheartBraveheart · 1925
Braveheart
7.01925
MovieWestern
Chief Standing Rock's tribe has a treaty protecting their fishing grounds, but a canning corporation is violating the treaty through intimidation and force. The tribe is divided as to how to handle the threat. Standing Rock's son, Braveheart, is sent to college to study law so that he can protect their rights, but others in the tribe, led by the hot-tempered Ki-Yote, want to provoke a more violent confrontation.
GrumpyGrumpy · 1923
Grumpy
8.01923
MovieComedyDrama
Andrew Bullivant, a retired lawyer known as "Grumpy" for his irascibility, calls on all his experience and powers of deduction to expose Chamberlin Jarvis as the thief of a valuable diamond being transported by Ernest Heron. A gardenia is the clue; and Virginia Bullivant, Ernest's sweetheart, is Jarvis' unwitting dupe.
Hashimura TogoHashimura Togo · 1917
Hashimura Togo
1917
MovieComedy
After an accusation of a breach of diplomacy committed by his brother, Hashimura Togo bears the burden and leaves Japan in disgrace for the United States where he enters the employ of Mrs. Reynolds as a butler. Togo discovers that Mrs. Reynolds' daughter Corinne is in love with Dr. Garland but is being coerced into marrying Carlos Anthony who, having seized all of her deceased father's funds, now promises to save the family from financial ruin in return for Corinne's hand in marriage. Enlisting the aid of a reporter, Hashimura succeeds in proving Anthony's deception in time to stop the marriage, freeing Corinne to marry Garland. After a series of misadventures, his name is cleared and Hashimura returns to his sweetheart in Japan.
StrongheartStrongheart · 1914
Strongheart
5.01914
MovieWesternAction
STRONGHEART (1914) is a Native American Indian drama. Based on a famous play of the time, the film features an all-star cast. Originally five reels, the film was reissued at three reels in 1916.
We Can't Have EverythingWe Can't Have Everything · 1918
We Can't Have Everything
1918
MovieComedyDrama
A married couple, each in love with another, attempts to unentangle themselves from their marriage in order to be with the one each truly loves. But the more they untangle one knot, the faster more confusing knots appear.
The Rose of the RanchoThe Rose of the Rancho · 1914
The Rose of the Rancho
4.01914
MovieRomanceWestern
Esra Kincaid takes land by force and, having taken the Espinoza land, his sights are set on the Castro rancho. Government agent Kearney holds him off till the cavalry shows up and he can declare his love for Juanita, called “the Rose of the Rancho.”
The SowersThe Sowers · 1916
The Sowers
1916
MovieDrama
Headed by a young nobleman, the Russian League of Freedom determines to free the peasants from oppression by the government. Prince Paul Alexis is in love with Karin Dolokhof, daughter of the chancellor. Both are working for the league. Shortly after they announce their engagement the prince receives word from the Czar that he must marry the Princess Tanya, for political reasons.
The RagamuffinThe Ragamuffin · 1916
The Ragamuffin
1916
MovieDrama
In planning to break into the house of the wealthy Bob Van Dyke, Jenny's stepfather decides that his stepdaughter should do most of the dirty work, and Jenny, not wanting to disappoint him, grudgingly agrees. As soon as she enters the house, Bob catches her, but then goes back to his bedroom after making her give her word not to take anything. Jenny breaks her promise...
Two Kinds of WomenTwo Kinds of Women · 1932
Two Kinds of Women
6.31932
MovieDrama
The daughter of a senator from South Dakota visits Manhattan for the first time, eager to see the sights of the big city. While there, she finds herself caught up in an affair with a married man, whose wife soon commits suicide. Complications ensue.
The Honor of His HouseThe Honor of His House · 1918
The Honor of His House
1918
MovieDrama
Marooned on a desert island, Dr. Robert Farlow and wealthy toxicologist Count Ito Onato both fall in love with Lora, a beautiful Japanese-American girl. Lora prefers Robert but decides to reject him because of his excessive fondness for drinking. After their rescue, Lora marries Count Ito, but Robert, still in love and resolving to win her, stops drinking, and soon attains a reputation in medicine matched only by the count's.
Miss Lulu BettMiss Lulu Bett · 1921
Miss Lulu Bett
5.91921
MovieComedyDrama
Lois Wilson (as Lulu) is the spinsterish member of the Deacon family: "The family beast of burden, whose timid soul has failed to break the bonds of family servitude." Her brother-in-law is patriarchal Theodore Roberts (as Dwight Deacon); running the house with an iron fist, he is both a dentist and a Justice of the Peace. As the latter, he accidentally marries Ms. Wilson to his visiting brother Clarence Burton (as Ninian Deacon) while they are out for dinner. Schoolteacher Milton Sills (as Neil Cornish) is also interested in Wilson...
The Idle RichThe Idle Rich · 1929
The Idle Rich
6.61929
MovieComedy
Millionaire William van Luyn falls in love with his secretary Joan Thayer and marries her. Her family, part of "the great middle class" (as blowhard nephew Henry keeps reminding us), is happy for Joan, but reluctant to take charity from Will. He moves in with them, and they keep resisting, until one day he takes drastic action.
Craig's WifeCraig's Wife · 1928
Craig's Wife
7.01928
MovieDrama
Harriet Craig, whose obsession with material possessions and immaculate neatness results in misery for all concerned. Harriet's husband remains blind to his wife's selfishness-until his eyes are opened when he is implicated in a double murder...
The Ghost HouseThe Ghost House · 1917
The Ghost House
1917
MovieComedyThriller
The old Atwell home is said to be haunted, and Jeremy Foster, the gardener--who is actually the head of a band of thieves that use the house for a hideout--does his best to keep the superstition alive. Despite the rumors, impoverished sisters Lois and Alice Atwell decide to move into the empty family home. They take possession the same night that Ted Rawson is ordered to explore the place as an initiation rite by his fraternity.
The Prince ChapThe Prince Chap · 1920
The Prince Chap
7.01920
MovieDrama
An artist in England is torn between an old flame and the now grown up little girl he has adopted.
The Bedroom WindowThe Bedroom Window · 1924
The Bedroom Window
9.01924
MovieMystery
William C. DeMille, Cecil B. DeMille's talented director brother, teamed with his favorite collaborator, scenarist Clara Beranger, for the 7-reel silent The Bedroom Window. Essentially a by-the-book mystery tale, the film is lifted from the ordinary by the expertise of DeMille and the charm of leading lady May McAvoy. She plays the daughter of a murder victim, while Ricardo Cortez co-stars as the Accused. Cortez is saved from the chair by his aunt Ethel Wales, a mystery writer. The real culprit is...well, keep your eye on the least likely, most cooperative member of the cast.
The Secret OrchardThe Secret Orchard · 1915
The Secret Orchard
1915
MovieDrama
The Secret Orchard is a 1915 American drama silent film directed by Frank Reicher.
One More AmericanOne More American · 1918
One More American
1918
MovieDrama
George Beban plays feisty Italian immigrant Luigi Riccardo, the eternal thorn in the side of New York political boss Regan (H.B. Carpenter). Fed up with Riccardo's interference in his graft-grabbing, Regan pulls a few strings and arranges for Riccardo and his family to be shipped back to Europe. But our hero's cause is championed by muckraking newspaper reporter Bump Rundle (Raymond Hatton), who takes on and exposes the Regan political machine.
Anton the TerribleAnton the Terrible · 1916
Anton the Terrible
1916
MovieDrama
Cossack Anton Kazoff seeks revenge for the wrongs inflicted on his sister Olga.
The Only SonThe Only Son · 1914
The Only Son
1.01914
MovieDrama
Thomas Brainerd, Sr., as a prospector, is a dutiful and loving husband and father, but when he strikes gold he becomes obsessed with business and all his relationships suffer. Due to his inattention his wife nearly strays and his son bitter at his father lack of understanding becomes estranged. All end happily though.
This Mad WorldThis Mad World · 1930
This Mad World
7.51930
MovieDramaWar
Parisot, a French spy in World War 1, returns home on a secret mission to visit his mother, and finds that Victoria, the wife of a German general, is billeted in the Parisot home while waiting to see her husband. Victoria discovers that Paul is a spy and, although fascinated by him, plans to reveal his identity to her husband. When the latter is unable to visit her, she attempts to go to the German army headquarters.
GigoloGigolo · 1926
Gigolo
7.01926
MovieDramaWar
The heir to a family business travels to Paris to try to stop his youth-obsessed mother from squandering the family fortune with her new husband, who's married her for her money. After he returns from service in World War I, he finds his mother, now broke and abandoned by her gigolo husband....
The Heir to the HoorahThe Heir to the Hoorah · 1916
The Heir to the Hoorah
1916
MovieActionDrama
The Hoorah, richest mine in California, has made millionaires of its three bachelor owners, Joe, Bud, and Dill. It occurs to the two latter men that this wealth, representing the labor and sacrifices of many long years, must, in the event of their death, revert to strangers.