''Oil for the Lamps of China'' is a 1935 drama film starring

Pat O'Brien Pat O'Brien may refer to: Politicians * Pat O'Brien (Canadian politician) (born 1948), member of the Canadian House of Commons *Pat O'Brien (Irish politician) (c. 1847–1917), Irish Nationalist MP in the United Kingdom Parliament Others *Pat O'Br ...

and

Josephine Hutchinson Josephine Hutchinson (October 12, 1903 – June 4, 1998) was an American actress. She acted in several theater plays and films. Early years Hutchinson was born in Seattle, Washington. Her mother, Leona Roberts, was an actress best known for ...

. It is based on the novel of the same name by Alice Tisdale Hobart. A man blindly puts his faith in his employer. The film was loosely remade in 1941 as ''

Law of the Tropics ''Law of the Tropics'' is a 1941 American drama film directed by Ray Enright and starring Constance Bennett, Jeffrey Lynn and Regis Toomey. By the time Bennett made the film, her career was in steep decline.Kellow, Brian. ''The Bennetts: An Acti ...

''.

Plot

Ambitious, idealistic Stephen Chase goes to work for the Atlantis Oil Company and is sent to a remote outpost in rural China run by "No. 1 Boss". After a while, he feels secure enough to send for his fiancée and goes to

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

to meet and marry her. However, when he gets there, all that is waiting for him is a telegram, in which she explains she is unwilling to live in such a backward country. He strikes up a conversation with Hester Adams. She had come to see China for the first time with her father, a professor of Oriental studies, only to have him die on the voyage. As they become better acquainted, Stephen comes up with an idea (partly to save himself from losing

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

). He asks Hester to marry him, explaining that it would be a partnership. She is impressed by his dream of modernizing China and accepts. It does not take long however for them to fall in love. No matter what happens, nothing shakes Stephen's faith in the company. When his friend, No. 1 Boss, is callously transferred to a lesser position, the old man commits suicide rather than accept the insult. The new boss, J. T. McCarger, orders Stephen to man an even more isolated post near Siberia. Stephen is reluctant to go since Hester is pregnant with their first child, but has no choice. Once there, he makes the agonized decision to go deal with a dangerous oil fire rather than stay and help the doctor deliver the baby. When he returns, he learns that the child is dead. This causes a temporary rift between him and his wife. Things improve. Stephen is promoted and assigned to a large city in the south. The Chases becomes good friends with another couple, Don and Alice Wellman. Don works for Stephen, but he is so contemptuous of the Chinese that two important clients refuse to renew their contracts unless he is fired. Stephen is torn, but does let Don go. Don's replacement is McCarger. Despite a prolonged drought and an outbreak of cholera, Stephen ruthlessly collects payment from his customers, earning the best record of any branch in China. Then, communists take over the city. An officer shows up at the company's offices and demands the gold stored in the safe. Stephen bargains with him and gets everyone except McCarger and himself evacuated to a ship by promising to give up the gold in a few hours. In the meantime, he sends for Ho, a very well-connected Chinese customer and good friend, hoping he can use his influence. When Ho bravely shows up however, he is shot down in cold blood by the soldiers. Outraged, Stephen and McCarger take the gold and escape out the back door. McCarger is killed and Stephen wounded, but a passing boat rescues him and the gold. In the hospital, he is visited by the new man in charge of the Orient for the company. Stephen is delighted to be offered the position of his assistant. However, when his boss outlines his plan to institute modern business practices, Stephen disagrees, explaining that, despite appearances, the "new" China is still run by the old ways. When he recovers, he is humiliated to learn that his job has been given to another man as a result. Further, he is given only menial tasks in an effort to get him to quit (and thus forfeit his pension). Hester gives Stephen's boss a tongue-lashing and reveals that her husband holds the patent for a lamp the company uses to popularize the use of its product. However, it is a call from the president of Atlantis, disturbed by the news that Stephen has been passed over for the job, that changes the man's mind. Stephen's shaken faith in the company is restored.

Cast

* Pat O'Brien as Stephen Chase * Josephine Hutchinson as Hester Adams Chase *

Jean Muir Jean Elizabeth Muir ( ; 17 July 1928 – 28 May 1995) was a British fashion designer. Early life and career Jean Muir was born in London, the daughter of Cyril Muir, a draper's floor superintendent, and his wife, Phyllis Coy. Her father ...

as Alice Wellman *

Lyle Talbot Lyle Florenz Talbot (born Lisle Henderson, also credited Lysle Talbot; February 8, 1902 – March 2, 1996) was an American stage, screen and television actor. His career in films spanned three decades, from 1931 to 1960, and he performed on ...

as Jim * Arthur Byron as No. 1 Boss *

John Eldredge John Eldredge (born June 6, 1960 in Los Angeles) is an American author, counselor, and lecturer on Christianity. He is known for his best-selling book '' Wild at Heart''. Life and work Eldregde received his undergraduate degree in theater from ...

as Don Wellman *

Donald Crisp Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ...

as J.T. McCarger *

Willie Fung Willie Fung (3 March 1896 – 16 April 1945) was a Chinese-American film actor who played supporting roles in 125 American films between 1922 and 1944. Like many Chinese actors working in Hollywood during the era, he often played Japanese charac ...

as Kin, the Chases' servant *

Tetsu Komai (23 April 1894 – 10 August 1970), also known as Tetsuo Komai, was a Japanese-American actor, known for his minor roles in Hollywood films. Biography Born in Kumamoto, Kyushu, Komai had small parts in over 50 films from the 1920s until the ...

as Ho * Henry O'Neill as Edward Hartford * Ronnie Cosby as Bunsy Wellman, the Wellmans' son * William B. Davidson as E.H. Swaley (as William Davidson) *

George Meeker George Meeker (March 5, 1904 – August 19, 1984) was an American character film and Broadway actor. A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Meeker made several films such as ''Crime, Inc.'' (1945) and ''A Thief in the Dark'' (1 ...

as Bill Kendall *

Joseph Crehan Joseph A. Creaghan (July 15, 1883 – April 15, 1966) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1916 and 1965, and notably played Ulysses S. Grant nine times between 1939 and 1958, most memorably in ''Union Paci ...

as Clements *

Christian Rub Christian Rub (pronounced ''Rhoob''; April 13, 1886 – April 14, 1956) was an Austrian-born American character actor. He was known for his work in films of the late 1910s to the early 1950s, and was featured in more than 100 films. Biography ...

as Dr. Jorgen *

Willard Robertson Willard Robertson (January 1, 1886 – April 5, 1948) was an American actor and writer. He appeared in more than 140 films between 1924 and 1948. He was born in Runnels, Texas, and died in Hollywood, California. Biography Robertson first ...

as Speaker *

Edward McWade Edward McWade (January 14, 1865 – May 17, 1943) was a writer, stage actor and an American film actor. Biography McWade was born in Washington, D.C., on January 14, 1865. His father was notable stage actor Robert McWade Sr. (1835-1913) an ...

as Dan * Florence Fair as Miss Cunningham *

Keye Luke Keye Luke (, Cantonese: Luk Shek Kee; June 18, 1904 – January 12, 1991) was a Chinese-born American film and television actor, technical advisor and artist and a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild. He was known for playing Lee Chan, t ...

as Young Chinese Soldier * Lotus Liu, bit part

Critical response

Writing for ''The Spectator'' in 1935,

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

described the concept of the film as excellent, but lamented that "so interesting a theme should have been passed first through the mind of a good, sincere and sentimental woman and then through the mind of a perhaps less sincere but certainly not less sentimental Hollywood scenario-writer". (reprinted in: )

References

External links

* * * * {{Mervyn LeRoy 1935 films 1930s English-language films Warner Bros. films American business films American romantic drama films Films about businesspeople Films based on American novels Films directed by Mervyn LeRoy First National Pictures films Films set in China Films set in Yokohama American black-and-white films 1935 romantic drama films 1930s American films Films scored by Bernhard Kaun Films scored by Heinz Roemheld