Lampes de Chine

You might recognize that title line from How To Succeed In Business as Robert Morse sings his philosophy of life in the business world. But that was from the safety of Madison Avenue in New York, not in the frontier atmosphere of Kuomintang China. Pat O'Brien endures all for the sake of the company which is never referred to by its actual name which is the Atlantis Oil Company. It is reverently and in semi-hushed tones always referred to in Oil For The Lamps Of China as "THE COMPANY", in the same way the Central Intelligence Agency is called that in much espionage fiction.

From what I was able to gather the Atlantis Oil Company does what oil companies do. One of the byproducts of petroleum is kerosene and since China is hardly wired for electricity, they depend on oil lamps for illumination. So this company has a nice market there, drilling the oil from China and selling it back to them. And its all presented in such awe as spreading the benefits of civilization, western civilization that is.

So Pat O'Brien goes to China with the zeal of a missionary. He gets dumped by the woman he was supposed to marry, but then meets up with Josephine Hutchinson who was on an oriental tour with her father who was a professor of oriental history, but who died on the boat. Two lonely people commiserate and fall in love.

After they marry the film turns absolutely bizarre. O'Brien and Hutchinson endure so much for THE COMPANY, like the loss of a child, long separation, outright theft of an idea for a new type kerosene lamp O'Brien events. I hate to say this but Pat should have taken up a new career. Anyone else would have, but he carries on strong in his faith in THE COMPANY.

The film was based on a novel by Alice Tisdale Hobart and the book was first and foremost a romance novel between two people in an exotic location, exotic for Americans of the time that is. As romance it's all right, the sociological implications are frightening however.

Remember that How To Succeed In Business was a satire, this film was never meant to be that.

A few reviewers are a bit harsh in regards to the lead character because he won't stand up to the company. Remember, this film was made in the middle of The Great Depression. Most employed people considered themselves lucky.

I felt it is a cozy little film. You spend most of your time with the two main characters in a shack, watching them move closer and closer while Pat O'Brien takes more and more from the company.

I enjoyed this film, even though a few parts were unnecessarily sad.

One silly thing I can't shake is seeing the leads so young. I will always remember Josephine Hutchinson from North by Northwest ("You didn't borrow Laura's Mercedes?") and this is the first film in which I have seen Pat O'Brien before he became a chronic alcoholic.

Pat O'Brien stars with Josephine Hutchinson in "Oil for the Lamps of China," a 1935 film, directed by Mervyn LeRoy. O'Brien plays Stephen Chase, who is transferred to China by the oil company for whom he works. After a time, he arranges for his fiancé to meet him in Yokahama so they can be married, though the company frowns against marriage because "women can't handle it" - meaning living in the Chinese outpost.

Unfortunately or fortunately, Stephen's bride-to-be leaves him standing at the altar, or the boat dock, anyway; he receives a telegram saying she changed her mind. He walks into a hotel bar and sees a woman (Josephine Hutchinson) sitting alone at a table. Her name is Hester. They talk for a few minutes. He learns that she was traveling with her father, who taught Chinese history but had never been to China. On the boat over, he died. Stephen invites her to dinner. He later explains that to return without a wife means that he will lose face and be considered a fool. He proposes, asking for nothing but companionship. She accepts.

Eventually they fall in love, and in many ways, Hester is the best thing that has ever happened to him. She's certainly a lot better than the company he deifies, which causes him both personal and professional losses after he makes great sacrifices in order to do right by them.

The film seems to be making the statement that no sacrifice on behalf of "the company" is too great. Seeing the way a lot of companies act today, and the way "the company" behaved in this film, I wouldn't say that's the way to go.

The original book, by Alice Tisdale Hobart, apparently concentrates on the romance in the exotic locale of China. I wish the film version had done the same, casting a romantic leading man like Errol Flynn, perhaps. As it stands, it doesn't hold up well today. Josephine Hutchinson was an interesting actress and it was good to see her. Pat O'Brien, usually likable, remains likable here but also a bit of a fool given his devotion to the company.

Just okay.

While this film has undeniable drawbacks, chief among them a typical 30s Hollywood attitude toward Chinese folks (although, to be fair, it does take a couple potshots at white prejudice toward Asians), a way too theatrical performance by Josephine Hutchinson and an ending that is, to put it at its kindliest, less than convincing, like most movies directed by Mervin Le Roy it is fast paced, rarely boring and ultimately worth one's time.

Plus it has, to my mind at least, a rather important theme, namely the price that is exacted by allowing one's identity to be subsumed by one's occupation. And playing the subsumee Pat O'Brien, usually one of Hollywood's less compelling actors, turns in one of his best performances, alternately bitter, triumphant, vulnerable and loyal in his attitude toward the rather devious Atlas Oil Co. And therein lies another reason I enjoyed this film. As a previous reviewer stated it bucks the trend in Tinseltown, from "Wildcat" to "Giant", of glorifying Big Business, particularly when that business involves petroleum. Indeed the criticism of corporate malfeasance in the film is so sharp that it lingers in the mind long after that ludicrous ending where the icy corporate heart is melted by a wife's plea. As if. Give it a B minus.

Pat O'Brien is magnificent as the loyal company man whose values are repeatedly called into question when it becomes obvious, even to him, that the company is costing both the Americans and the Chinese their lives in the name of maximizing profit. Even the death of his own son does not totally convince O'Brien. The supporting cast is marvelous, and the view of 1935 China is a special treat. This one is good for repeated viewings to understand the forces that drove a completely different world.