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286 Yes, Mr. DeMille Early in January, 1922, he went after FooTs Paradise, con- tending that Leonard Merrick's story had been "mutilated, de- formed, truncated, disfigured and beaten to a pulp... offensive to the eye, to the aesthetic sense and frequently to the digestive organ A sordid, distasteful theme." But The Ten Commandments, released two years later, rocked Sherwood back on his heels; it was a good picture. Sherwood admitted it, but soon was gaily back at the old stand. "It is a source of genuine regret to me that I must return to my old policy of roasting Cecil DeMille's pictures. Some time ago I met him face to face, and he seemed like such a nice These continued attacks were one of the most sorrowful as- pects of DeMille's life and in view of his success the most puzzling. He had established early that he was on the side of the common people, or possibly that they were on his side, Having pleased vast numbers of filmgoers, he found himself in the trying position of facing the critics with this dastardly achievement. He often took die view the conflict was between the critics and the masses. 'What the critics are telling the world is that if the people had any sense they wouldn't enjoy a DeMille picture/' It was our practice to search newspaper reviews of DeMille films for comments stating in effect that, despite its low quality, the picture would probably make a huge profit. At least a half dozen such verdicts were rendered by major critics on every DeMille hit. On one picture the boss anticipated the usual criti- cal reaction, grinning as he remarked to a visitor, "This picture stinks but it probably will be enjoyed by millions." Some key reviewers said just that, in one way or another, and the Samson and Delilah picture went on to post impressive boxoffice re- turns. A quarter of a century ago the old New York City Post tagged DeMille's Volga Boatman as a "bore,.. silly and vulgar," adding, "It is almost certain to make a barrel of money." The New Yorfc Times assessed Samson and Delilah as a