What does the Dalai Lama have to do with various bizarre and intriguing cultural references like moral panics over marijuana, a backwoodsman-turned-politician, noir intrigues in wartime San Francisco, Ronald Reagan, a resurrected Egyptian mummy, President Taft’s bathtub, and a giant reptile in Japan? Surprisingly, quite a lot.
Years ago, I heard that the Dalai Lama was mentioned in fake newspapers in two old movies, “Reefer Madness” and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Sadly, I don’t remember who told me this, and I couldn’t find any clues in my emails.
The newspaper headline read, “New ‘Living Buddha’ Reported Discovered.” This refers to the discovery of the Dalai Lama’s new incarnation or “tulku” in Tibet in 1936. Initially, I was skeptical because I assumed that all prop newspapers in old films contained entirely fictional stories. It turns out that wasn’t the case, as at least some stories were real, including the one about the Dalai Lama.
In a low-resolution image from “Reefer Madness,” you can barely make out the headline “New ‘Living Buddha’ Reported Discovered” beneath other headlines like “Harper Verdict Expected Tonight” and “Dick Tracy, G-Man, In Sensational Raid.” The headline is more clearly visible in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” during a pivotal scene where a coin toss decides whether to replace a deceased senator with a political stooge or a naive local hero. Here, the newspaper headlines include “New ‘Living Buddha’ Reported Discovered” and “36 Mexican Rebels Killed by Soldiers.”
I later found that the Dalai Lama appears in other films too. In “This Gun for Hire,” the same headline appears below the main story, “Chemist and Woman Murdered.” The headline also shows up in “Gigantis, The Fire Monster,” “Girls On Probation” starring Ronald Reagan, “The Mummy’s Tomb,” and the 1979 TV miniseries “Backstairs at the Whitehouse.”
The prop newspapers were likely made by The Earl Hays Press, a long-time supplier to Hollywood. But is the “Living Buddha” story really about the Dalai Lama, and did it appear in real newspapers? Yes and yes. On May 27, 1936, the Associated Press published a story titled “New ‘Living Buddha’ Reported Discovered,” which appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Atlanta Journal.
The report detailed a two-year search by Tibetan priests and diviners that ended with the discovery of the new Dalai Lama in the Han Jen district, northeast of Lhasa. Tibetan monks had sought clues from visions in the sacred Chugkhorgyae Lake. After interpreting these visions, they instructed the populace to search for a specific house and child.
While the Panchen Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader in exile for 12 years, couldn’t return to mentor the new Dalai Lama, temporal affairs were managed by Jechen Hutukehtu since the previous Dalai Lama’s death.
Many other film and TV appearances borrowed real newspaper stories like “36 Mexican Rebels Killed by Soldiers” and “Fire Destroys State Arsenal.” The Dalai Lama made his way into numerous films, from classics to more obscure titles. If you spot any others, let me know!