Dear Rush,

Thanks for this insightful response. I am grateful that you spend so much time maintaining this site and responding to the musings of your readers. I'd say we have many of the same thoughts regarding Warner Oland and his alcoholism. Like you, I think he must have been in the midst of a breakdown when he walked off the set. The collapse of his 30-year marriage must have been a terrible blow. From all I have read, he and his wife were truly soulmates. And his work load over the previous few years had been breathtaking. As you say, the second and third hand comments made seventy years after the fact do need to be taken with a grain of salt. I just hate to see his obvious skill as an actor overshadowed by these "rumors." A final question: has anyone actually written a bio of Oland? I've been unable to find anything, and Larry Edmund's (famous) bookshop in Hollywood knows of nothing - in or out of print. Thanks again for all your hard work!