CINEMA STAR’S GIFT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 31 May 1940, Page 9

CINEMA STAR’S GIFT

WORN BY PILOT IN BATTLE. Today, somewhere high over the Western Front, an English flyer, is piloting a swift pursuit ship. Inside his flying helmet is folded a silken scarf, a gift from Muriel Angelus. He wears it “for luck.”

It is a strange story. Just before she left England for Hollywood to take a role opposite Ronald Colman in Paramount's “The Light That Failed,” Miss Angelus made several trips to Paris. On her last trip, from Paris back home, she found a box of orchids in her cabin with a brief note: “I hope you won’t mind,” it read; “I’ll be at the airport when you land.” He was there, too, when the huge transport settled down at Croydon Field. He was an executive officer, and explained that the orchids were a gift from the line.

“I hear, too, you’re going to Hollywood,” he added, “and I want to give you something for luck.” The “something” was a battered ancient seal used by his ancestors for generations in signing their documents. It carried his family crest; Startled, but immensely pleased. Miss Angelus searched for something to give to him. She unwound a silken scarf from around her throat.

“Thanks,” he smiled. “It doesn’t look much like war now—but if one comes I’ll have it inside my helmet each time I go up.”