The Genius: A Comedy in Three Acts

by William C. De Mille, Cecil B. DeMille

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114 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1904

About the author

William Churchill de Mille (1878 – 1955) was an American screenwriter and film director from the silent movie era through the early 1930s. He was also a noted playwright prior to moving into film. Once he was established in film he specialized in adapting Broadway plays into silent films.

Though not as famous today as his brother Cecil, he was one of the silent film era's most respected directors. And though most of his silents have been lost, those that remain, for instance Miss Lulu Bett (1921) show a delicate touch in the telling of an impoverished spinster's misfortunes in a small town.

During his time as a screenwriter, William met the Scottish author, Lorna Moon, who wrote several sophisticated Hollywood comedies. In 1998, Richard de Mille, who had grown up in Cecil's household, revealed in the memoir My Secret Mother, Lorna Moon that William C. deMille was his father and screenwriter Moon his biological mother. Richard had been adopted by Cecil B. and Constance DeMille to avoid a family scandal.