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THE SIGN OF THE BOSS 143 quiet. Some of the older staff members, seeing the telltale crim- son flush creep up the back of his neck, headed for the storm cellars. On that day, the staff would find reason to be occupied elsewhere. It might not have occurred to the newcomer that a set was sometimes something else. Least of all could he anticipate that he would be staked out for slaughter in order that a totally un- related result might be achieved. It was DeMille's policy never to criticize a star once the picture had started. All sorts of psychology, yes, but never open ragging. It wasn't sensible to unnerve a star who held the fate of the picture in his hand, once the camera started to grind and the costs began to pile up, as they did very quickly on a DeMille epic. But there must be some way to discipline a performer who was, say, frivolous on the sets or failed to memorize lines, or rejected little niceties in make-up. The sources of irritation to a mind as intense as the boss's were numberless. Though he may have wished it, he could not confront the offending actress with a large-caliber revolver and invite her to use it—on herself. He took another tact—peering behind and around for someone engaged at the moment in some frivolity which might be regarded as improper. This was not easy on a DeMille set, where discipline and behavior were usually quite exemplary. Should he find a casual offender, maybe guilty of nothing more heinous than popping his chewing gum, a roar like the collapse of burning towers would come over the microphone, rocking the company back on its heels. All, including the play- ful actress, were cowed into reverential silence, and discipline was restored. It was on just such an occasion that DeMille chose a new recruit to be the sacrificial lamb, though it must be said in full truth that DeMille had no idea who the lamb was going to be, until the moment he brightly turned up at his side to reveal what ordinarily might have been a very cheering piece of news—namely, that a magazine had accepted an article