Santa Claus and Gandhi were in a car...

NO, I don't have a joke which begins with 'Santa Claus and Gandhi were in a car...'. I wish I knew one.

We all know Mahatma Gandhi is one person from India who is genuinely famous around the world unlike so many others who are "world famous-in-India". I always thought he became such a well known person "after" India was successful in gaining independence mainly through his principle of non-violence. I am not suggesting that he should only be judged by the legacy he left behind or the role he played in historic events. But, I couldn't have guessed him to be known whosoever in popular culture in America before India's independence.

Over this weekend I was watching a classic Hollywood romantic comedy called "it Happened One Night". The following are the lines between the two main characters of the movie.

Ellie : It's become a sort of game to try and outwit Father's detectives. I did once. I actually went shopping without a bodyguard. But it didn't last long. They caught up with me in a department store. I was so mad, I ran out the back way and jumped into the first car I saw. Guess who was in it?

Peter Warne : Santa Claus?

Ellie : (she gives a blank stare suggesting no)

Peter Warne : Gandhi?

Ellie : (again suggesting no says that it was actually her would be fiancee in the car)

I almost missed it when he said Gandhi (The pronunciation of the word was so different and moreover I didn't expect it). I had to rewind and watch it again to confirm it. The movie was made in 1934. Yes, 1934. As far as I know, at that time, few people knew of Gandhi's radical new principles and even less who believed they would ever work. It's a movie from a different time and a different world. It was hard for me to even think of the movie as a comedy. I thought of it more as a typical romance of that age. So I can only guess in what context Gandhi was mentioned. But here he was in a Hollywood romantic comedy being mentioned and bracketed with Santa Claus as a benevolent Saint.

I can only wonder if there are any mention of Hitler in Hollywood movies of that time (He came to power around the same time) and if there are, in what context?