Triangle, Fine Arts, and Keystone (1915–1916) Faye made her debut in silent films with bit roles in
Martyrs of the Alamo and
The Lamb, both directed by
Christy Cabanne for
Triangle Film Corporation in 1915. Her first credited and important role was as
Dorothea opposite
DeWolf Hopper's Don Quixote in the 1915 Fine Arts adaptation of
the famous Miguel de Cervantes novel. Neil G. Caward, a reviewer for the film journal
Motography, wrote, in his review of
Don Quixote, that "both
Fay Tincher as Dulcinea and Julia Faye as Dorothea add much enjoyment to the picture." Faye's growing popularity increased with her appearances in several
Keystone comedies, including
A Movie Star,
His Auto Ruination,
His Last Laugh,
Bucking Society,
The Surf Girl, and ''A Lover's Might
, all released in 1916. She also worked for D. W. Griffith, who gave her a minor role in Intolerance'' (1916).
Famous Players–Lasky (1917–1925) Faye's first role for
Cecil B. DeMille was featured in
The Woman God Forgot (1917). She continued working for DeMille in
The Whispering Chorus,
Old Wives for New,
The Squaw Man and
Till I Come Back to You (all 1918). 's maid in DeMille's
Male and Female (1919) In 1919, Faye played the stenographer in
Stepping Out. Cast with
Enid Bennett,
Niles Welch, and
Gertrude Claire, Faye was complimented by a critic for playing her role with "class". In DeMille's
Male and Female (1919), she played
Gloria Swanson's maid. Her next film,
It Pays To Advertise (1919), was a
Paramount Pictures release adapted by
Elmer Harris from the play of the same name by Rol Cooper Megrue and Walter Hackett. It was directed by
Donald Crisp. Faye was among the actors with
Lois Wilson depicting the
leading lady. Faye was listed as a member of the Paramount Stock Company School in July 1922. Its noteworthy personalities included
Rudolph Valentino,
Gloria Swanson,
Betty Compson,
Wallace Reid,
Bebe Daniels, and
Pola Negri. '' (1923) In 1923, she played
The Wife of Pharaoh, one of her most famous roles, in the prologue of DeMille's
The Ten Commandments. Faye joined
Raymond Griffith and
ZaSu Pitts in the screen feature
Changing Husbands (1924), a
Leatrice Joy comedy adapted from a magazine story entitled
Roles.
DeMille Pictures Corporation (1925–1927) When DeMille resigned as director general of
Famous Players–Lasky, in January 1925, he became the production head of Cinema Corporation of America. He planned to direct two or three films per year and supervise the making of between ten and twenty more. Faye came along with him as did Joy,
Rod La Rocque,
Florence Vidor,
Mary Astor, and
Vera Reynolds.
The Volga Boatman (1926) was directed by DeMille and named for the noted Russian folk song.
William Boyd,
Elinor Fair, and Faye have primary roles in a production DeMille called "his greatest achievement in picture making." Faye's depiction of a "tiger woman" was esteemed as the most captivating of her career to this point. Before this role she had been known for "silken siren roles".
Theodore Kosloff played opposite her as a stupid blacksmith. Faye played
Martha in
The King of Kings (1927). Christ, portrayed by
H.B. Warner, first appears through another's perception. A blind child searches for the Lord and DeMille turns the camera gradually down to the child's eyes; his recovery of sight is shown by darkness slowly turning into blurred light, with Christ gradually coming into focus from the child's point-of-view. Thus the viewer sees Christ initially like the blind child whose sight is restored. Faye traveled to
New York City for personal appearances in association with
The King of Kings and to address a sales convention in
Chicago, Illinois. Faye won critical acclaim for her leading performance in the 60-minute silent comedy
Turkish Delight (1927), directed by
Paul Sloane for DeMille Pictures Corporation. She won the role of
Empress Josephine in
The Fighting Eagle (1927) after she appeared in a screen test with a new actress and the casting director chose Faye instead. She said, "It was just a stroke of luck that I was asked to help with that first test. Since I found out I had a chance to get the part, I have been fighting for it ever since. That's the only way I can get anything around here. As a result, I am always fighting with someone—usually the casting director." She was featured as
Velma in the
1927 DeMille-produced film adaptation of the play
Chicago; she has the distinction of being the first actress to portray Velma on-screen.
Sound films (1928–1957) Faye had a small role as an inmate in DeMille's
The Godless Girl (1929), which featured some talking sequences, but she made her "
talkie" debut playing Marcia Towne in DeMille's first sound film,
Dynamite (1929), co-starring
Conrad Nagel,
Kay Johnson, and
Charles Bickford.
Dynamite was also her first
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film. In 1930, Faye said she was tired of her reputation for versatility and wanted to be typecast as a sophisticated society woman. Faye kept track of all her screen appearances, and her role in
Chicago Deadline (also known as
One Woman) was her 250th film assignment. she had a prominent supporting role as
Delilah's maidservant, Hisham. She also made an uncredited appearance in
Sunset Boulevard (1950), as an actress on the set of DeMille's film (
Samson and Delilah). In 1951, Faye informed Hedda Hopper about her part in DeMille's
The Greatest Show on Earth: "I play a wardrobe mistress. It's a wonderful role of an ex-circus performer who has become too old and too fat. I'm going to try for high comedy." In DeMille's
1956 version of The Ten Commandments, she played
Elisheba,
Aaron's wife. Her last role was as a dowager in
the 1958 remake of DeMille's The Buccaneer, produced by DeMille himself but directed by his son-in-law
Anthony Quinn. ==Personal life==