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<f 99 B AS IN BARNUM 249 far from appeased. He had a story line of sorts but "we should have had it nine months ago. We have a few bones. We've got to breathe life into this carcass/' At this point Writers Nos. 1 and 3 were in our employ, No. 2 having quietly resigned. Still champing, DeMille brought in No. 4. His pay: $1,500 a week. He was assigned the task of polishing the material written by Writer No. 1. Here DeMille announced that from then on he and a staff assistant would constitute a two-man team to act as trouble shooters. This meant the team would keep the writers on the right track, at the same time contributing plot suggestions and dialogue. Meanwhile the story conferences continued. The staff assistant shuttled between the writers and DeMille, making known the boss's attitude toward a piece of work and seeing to it that DeMille's ideas were not only incorporated into the script, but retained there precisely in the manner out- lined by him, One day DeMille heard about a young writer reputed to have a flair for originality. After talking with him, the boss offered the fledgling $1,500 for one week's work and, should the results please him, a minimum of $20,000 for an eight-week stint. At the end of the week the young man, Writer No. 5, was informed his services were no longer required. That winter, 1950, came the sixth writer. At $1,000 a week he was put to work polishing the material turned over to him by Writer No. 4, who was polishing Writer No. 1's material. No. 6 worked at home and came to the studio for the staff luncheons, now devoted largely to story problems. During this period the non-writing staff members felt reason- ably secure. For the time being at least they enjoyed a reprieve