Oil for the Lamps of China (Warner Bros.) (1935)

Death When 35 Predicted for Josephine Hutchinson Leading Lady in ‘Oil for the Lamps of China’ Victim of Fortune Tellers By LINDA LEATH had her fortune told—twice. W lice Josephine Hutchinson was a little girl, she ‘*You will die when you are thirty-five years old,’’ both fortune tellers told her, several months apart. That changed Josephine’s whole life, for she believed it. The first fortune teller to warn her that she was to die young, and even named the year, was a tea leaf reader. She had almost forgotten the matter when she con sulted another seer, a palmist this time. She was told the same thing! That wag too much. If she had been older, she might have known how to protect herself against such insgidious mental suggestion. As it was, the damage was done. The subject had come up when a famous hand-writing expert entered the Cosmopolitan Production sound stage where Josephine sat studying the script for “Oil for the Lamps of China” First National Pictures will present BUcthe sik, 2 oe aS Theatre OMNES eon oy eres She asked to see a specimen of the actress’ handriting, and promised to analyze the character it revealed. “Jo” was tempted. Avoids Searching Future “She only tells personalities, doesn’t she?” she queried. “Will she tell about the past? Well, that’s all right,’ she compro mised, “but tell her to skip the future! I don’t want my fortune fold Whis yhoreturned, she told me the amazing reason for this strange request. Since the day the second fortune teller told her she would die at thirty-five, she has never had her palm read. Crystal gazing, card reading, spiritualistic seances likewise are out. If she finds tea leaves in her cup, she drinks them. She has a horror of horoscopes. “T went home from that second = fortune teller’s, that awful day,” she said, “literally frightened half to death. If she had told me I would die in another week, or month, I’m sure I would have obliged her simply by thinking myself into it. As it was, I got a break—she put the deadline many years away.” But these dire prohpecies did a queer psychological thing to Josephine Hutchinson. They influenced her entire life. “Pretty soon the fear wore off,” she said. “After a while I thought I had forgotten it entirely. But all the time, down underneath, there was ~ some part of me that took it as calm, indisputable fact that my time was limited. “One day, long after I was grown up,” Josephine continued, “T took myself aside for a thorough, mental going-over. And, to my horror, I discovered that, all these years, I had never thought about old age, or even middle age. Everything I ever wanted to be, or do, was planned to end at that fatal year of my life! Beyond that—nothing.” Is No Longer Afraid She leaned back in her canvas chair and smiled. “It was dreadful,” she said. “But after all, it was not without its silver lining perhaps.” For Josephine Hutchinson, preparing for death at thirty-five, “speeded” up her life. Made definite plans. Got places quicker. And now that she has expelled the superstition forever from her mind, she finds herself, still young, near the top of her profession—and with most of her life yet before her. “When I made the discovery— how this belief had clutched me, Page Fourteen FEATURE O’Brien Gets Lost in Film Snow Storm Pat. O’Brien, starring in the Cosmopolitan picture, “Oil for the Lamps of China,” which COMES SOMO ent cp Gaur ea ci cen ane PROALLC. ON vw ocean at ars , takes his work very seriously. A scene called for him to push his way through a studio staged snow storm. Pat pushed his way through but failed to turn into the yard of his Manchurian house. Instead, he walked almost into the camera. First Pat said that he was “snow blind.” Later on, changing his mind, he said that the snow was so thick that he couldn’t see where he was going. STORIES Jean Muir Overwhelmed With Marriage Proposals Featured Lead in “Oil for the Lamps of China” Gets Them in Every Mail ITHIN the short space of eighteen months Jean Muir, now playing a leading role in the Cosmo politan production ‘‘Oil for the Lamps of China,”’ which First National Pictures will present at the .......... Le, eae Ne Theatre’ ono. -. Oe bee Ts ea has become the Hollywood girl who receives the greatest number of mar riage proposals. Jean is the same sweet and simple girl today that she was before she sky-rocketed to fame, but now that she is better known, she has become the ideal of hundreds of Summer’s Favored Fashions Shown By Stars For summer sports, JOSEPHINE HUTCHINSON chooses a two-piece sports frock of pastel Apert all unknowing,” she says, “I first looked backward—traced, step by step, how it got its hold on me, and in what ways it molded my life. Then, little by little, I began throwing it out. It took time—you don’t uproot a deepseated belief like that quickly —but now I ean truthfully say that I don’t believe it any more. “Oil for the Lamps of China” is a thrilling drama of American pioneers in the picturesque setting of the Orient. Pat O’Brien, Miss Hutchinson and Jean Muir head the all star cast which also includes John Eldredge, Lyle Talbot, Arthur Byron, Henry O’Neill and Donald Crisp. Mervyn LeRoy directed the sereen play by Laird Doyle based on the novel by Alice Tisdale Hobart. O’Brien Rushes from Furs to Flannels This could only happen in Hollywood. Busy in two pictures, Pat O’Brien left the set of the Cosmopolitan Production “Oil for the Lamps of China” at 6 p.m., rushed to his dressing room, took off his furs, put on flannels and in a half hour was on the set for “Tn. Caliente.” , “Oil for the Lamps of China,” now showing at the ........... Theatre, is :\laid in Manchuria and “Tn Caliente” in Mexico. pill-box hat with grosgrain bow and chenilledotted . veil JEAN MUIR’S dotted crepe town crepe. frock. Mat No. 301—80c JOSEPHINE HUTCHINSON’S fa vorite hat is a wide-brimmed Breton sailor of white felt, trimmed with narrow grosgrain ribbon. These players, together with Pat O’Brien, head the cast of tops = “Qil for the Lamps of China,” new Strand hit based upon the famous best-seller. ear Crisp cotton in a checked design is JEAN MUIR’S first choice for summer evenings. The sash is of wide taffeta. Mervyn LeRoy had to Study Chinese to Direct Movie Many Among the 4.00 Asiatics in ‘Oil for the Lamps of China’ Cast Knew No English ments and are compelled to acquire many odd Me picture directors have many unusual assign assignment of accomplishments. Few however are called upon to learn how to talk Chinese before directing a picture made in Hollywood. Mervyn LeRoy, who directed the Cosmopolitan Production ‘‘Oil for the Lamps of China,’’ which First National Pictures will present at the Pet eae ee , had to study the language in order to make his directions intelligible to the 400 Chinese working in the picture, some of whom did not understand a word of English. Pat O’Brien and Josephine Hutchinson, who, with Jean Muir, head the all star cast, also tried to master a few words, but their efforts were not successful. O’Brien’s advice to those who would learn to pronounce the words barked out with ease by LeRoy, is “Don’t try.” Yet anyone who has ambitions to direct a picture with a Chinese locale, might as well start now memorizing the following: Tso jar—action; buyao chang —silence; jin—cut chee sing— nea oe = aero ae ee Theatre on roll ’°em; chee gong—lights; cact hi— dialogue; mun chun — time out; wu fan—lunch; ting—hold it; tao yen—director; fu tao yen assistant director; she ying— cameraman, “Tao yen” LeRoy was tutored by his technical advisor. “Oil for the Lamps of China” is a stirring drama of Americans in the picturesque atmosphere of China. Besides O’Brien and Miss Hutchinson, the cast includes Jean Muir, John Eldredge, Lyle Talbot, Arthur Byron, Henry O’Neill and Donald Crisp. The screen play is by Laird Doyle, based on the novel by Alice Tisdale Hobart. wife-seekers. The individuality of Jean Muir in her role opposite Richard Barthelmess in “A Modern Hero” and her real life wholesomeness in her interpretation of the leading character in “As the Earth Turns” were the first two sparks to ignite an avalanche of marriage proposals upon her. Her winsomeness in Joe KE. Brown’s picture, “Son of a Sailor” together with her natur alness in the very difficult role she portrayed in “Desirable” . further contributed in making the girl the target for countless pleas for partnership in marital bliss. A stock broker in New York asked her hand in marriage, writing to explain that her sincerity in many screen roles had won his heart although he had always been considered a _ confirmed bachelor. A large estate on the Hudson, yachts, diamonds, society life was hers for the taking. A Canadian trapper, a_ sailor in the Far East, a consul in European diplomatic circles, a Brazilian plantation owner, a Chicago architect, an actor in Sweden, a motorman on the B. M. T., these and many others want Jean Muir as a wife. When Jean first landed in Hollywood she led a wall-flower existence. Now she is seen at a preview with Francis Lederer, a cocktail party in company of Dick Powell, a theatre party with Lynn Riggs, the popular playwright, and she has been seen at dinner parties with William Powell as her attentive escort. These men, who cause heart throbs for thousands of fair ladies throughout the world, are the men now paying her attentions. JEAN MUIR in “Oil for the Lamps of China” at the Aare Theatre. Mat No. 106— 10c Miss Muir’s name has most recently been romantically linked with John Eldredge, who appears as her husband in the Warner Bros. production, “Oil for the Lamps of China,” with Pat O’Brien and Josephine Hutchinson, but both Miss Muir and Mr. Eldredge have denied existence of the truth in the rumor. “Oil for the Lamps of China,” is a stirring drama with a most unusual romance, set in the Orient. The all star cast includes besides Miss Muir and Eldredge, Pat O’Brien, Josephine Hutchinson, Lyle Talbot, Arthur Byron, Henry O’Neill and Donald Crisp. The picture was directed by Mervyn LeRoy from the screen play by Laird Doyle, based on Alice Tisdale Hobart’s novel. Nearly 400 Chinese men and women appear in the picture, having roles that range from important speaking parts to appearances in the moh, scenes.